The Avenger's Search
by Kippy2002
Summary: A year after the Infinity War, the Avengers have spilt up. Thor, Rocket and Banner are in search of any remaining Asgardians when they run into Stark and Nebula, who are in pursuit of Thanos. Joining forces, the five come to a village following a source to where Thor's people are. There they come across an... unexpected mystery.
1. Chapter 1: Meetings

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Marvel merchandise.**

 **Hello there! I know it's been sometime since I've posted ANYTHING on here. Sorry to all those who are waiting to hear more about 'How She Died', and I promise to get back to it as soon as possible. Just so you all know, there may be some spoilers about Infinity War in this. And this is not a story about what I think will happen in Avengers 4. This story also has nothing to do with my previous Avenger tales. Hope you all like it, and let me know what you think. Thanks. ;)**

Chapter One: Meetings

"Using me as bait." The soft, sour muttering sounded through the dense undergrowth of the forest. Only the slightest cracking of twigs followed the footsteps of the man shrouded in darkness by the leaves overhead.

Raising his hand to pull aside a branch, the man saw a clearing in front of him. In the middle of the clearing was a brown-haired man sitting on a large boulder, still muttering quietly to himself, "If Hulk wasn't sulking, he'd be the one sitting here as bait, and I'd be the one up there waiting watching the clearing."

Frowning slightly in confusion, the man stepped into the clearing and called, "Banner?"

The brown-haired man turned around and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw mud-smeared Iron Man armour. Standing up, the man turned around to face him, calling back, "Tony! What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Stark replied, stepping further into the clearing, making Banner hold up his hands and cry, "No, wait! Tony it's a tra-"

Stark gave a yell of shock as he was hoisted into the air. Looking up, he saw that a rope was wrapped around his ankle, leaving him hanging upside-down. Stark gave a groan of annoyance and looked back down at Banner, who was biting his lip slightly. Shaking his head, he turned back to the rope and raised his hand towards it.

But before he could shot, a sparkle of silver flew past and cut through his binding, making Stark fall to the ground with an echoing thump. A low rumble of laughter came closer as Stark got to his feet, and turning around he saw a tall, large muscled man walking towards the clearing, his face split into two with a huge grin.

"Friend Stark! I am glad to see you're alive." The big man stepped over to Stark, briefly shaking his hand before walking over to the large axe that lay on the ground and picking it up. Stark pulled back his helmet, saying as he did so, "Thor. How- how are you? Man, I haven't seen you for three years."

Thor gave a small chuckle and turned back to Stark, replying, "Yes, it has been sometime, my friend. But now is not the time to exchange tales. Now, is the time to collect food."

He then sprinted back into the darkness of the woods, while Banner sighed and sat back down on the boulder. Stark looked from one to the other, before quickly following after the big man, calling, "Wait, what's going on? What happened on Earth? Where are the others?"

Stark very soon lost sight to where Thor had disappeared, leaving him to look around while throwing up his hands. The soft sound of twigs cracking came to his ears, making his pull his helmet back up while looking over his shoulder while a voice spoke softly, "Don't move, and I won't blow your iron butt to kingdom kong."

Raising his hand, Stark turned to face the source of the voice and felt his mouth drop in surprise as he saw a raccoon dressed in leather and pointing a huge gun at him. Letting his hand fall, Stark muttered quietly, "A raccoon?"

"Shut up and get movin'." The small creature waved the gun to his right and waited as Stark gave a small scoff, turning around again to continue moving along the way he was walking in before.

A soft whir, then the sound of the gun going off, following by a small ding against his armour sounded, making Stark pause and slowly turned back to face the raccoon, who hissed, "I'm not going to tell you again. Move."

Rolling his eyes slightly, Stark raised a hand and said, "Look, little guy… I don't hurt you. So do yourself a favour- stay out of my way."

"Look pal," Stark raised his eyebrows slightly as the raccoon replied while barring his teeth, "I haven't eaten in the last week, and we don't need you ruining our trap. So, I'm only going to warn you once- follow me and stay out of our way, or I'll eat you."

He again waved his gun to the right, but before anything more could be said or done, there was a loud squealing that made the two turn back to the clearing. Both running full steam, the two crashed into the clearing and saw Banner looking up at a pig-like creature that was hanging from a rope above them.

Moving to stand next to Banner and pulling his helmet back, Stark waited as Thor came back into the clearing, a wide smile on his face again while the raccoon climbed up the tree and started to cut the rope.

"You see, Banner?" Thor asked, slapping his friend's back while staring up at the pig, adding, "I told you everything would work."

Banner's eyes widen as he backed away, replying shrilly, "Are you crazy, Thor?! It was that close from making me it's dinner!"

He raised his hand, his two fingertips nearly touching each other to demonstrate how close it was. Stark looked back up at the pig, and watched as the raccoon cut through the last of the rope, letting the pig drop to the ground with a loud squeal. Thor then stepped forward and dug his axe into the creature's side, it's squeals dying immediately.

Thor tuned back to the two men, his smile still in place as he called over, "Friend Stark, won't you join us? You look like you could use some rest."

Glancing over at the pig, Stark turned back to Thor, replying, "My colleague and I would be happy to join you. But I'm not eating… that."

"Colleague?" Banner turned to him, frowning slightly. Stark gave a small nod and told him, "I've been travelling with this blue, robot chick for the last year. We have a common goal in mind: to find Thanos, make him undo what he did and then kill him. She's back at our ship."

Banner gave a small nod while Thor patted Stark's back, telling him warmly, "We'll gladly welcome any friend of yours. We will wait here for your return."

Stark gave a short nod and pulled up his helmet, turning around to face the direction he had first come from.


	2. Chapter 2: Joining Forces

_**Hey guys! I just want to thank all those who have favourited my story already. Hope you enjoy this next chapter, and as always, tell me what you think.**_

Chapter Two: Joining Forces

"So, Thor… what have you been doing these last few years?" Stark asked, looking over at the large man from across the fire. Thor gave a quiet sigh and replied in a low voice, "Well… I searched for the Infinity Stones for two years, without any success. It was then brought to my attention that my brother was alive."

He stopped as Stark spat out the mouthful of water he was drinking, a fit of coughs overwhelming him for many minutes. He finally forced himself to stop coughing long enough to wheeze, "Loki is alive?"

Thor gave a soft nod, turning his gaze to the flames before him, continuing quietly, "Indeed, he… was. He was posing as Odin on Asgard. I exposed him and forced him to show me where he had imprisoned Father. We went to Earth, met a wizard who led us to my father. We watched him die, which followed in the release of my sister."

Again, Thor paused as Stark raised a hand and asked, "Hang on a second. You have a sister?"

"Yes, she was the first born and rightful ruler of Asgard." Thor answered quietly, his eyes dark. Stark noticed that one of his eyes was a different colour from the last time they had seen one another. But, feeling that the explanation to this would come up later, Stark kept quiet and listened to the rest of Thor's tale, "We tried to return to Asgard, but my sister followed and knocked Loki and myself out of the Bifrost. I landed in a place called Sakaar. That is where I met the last of the Valkyrie.

"She captured me and took me to this strange… creepy man, who called himself the 'GrandMaster'." Thor's top lip curled slightly, but he continued slowly, "I was made to fight in a contest of some sorts. That's where I found Banner."

He glanced over at Banner, who gave a small nod before muttering to Stark, "We had a fight, but I don't remember anything about it. In fact I don't remember anything that happened in those two years."

Thor's face once again split into a grin, while continuing, "I tried to escape using the Quinjet. But the Hulk destroyed it before I could. So we had to come up with another plan to get back to Asgard. The Valkyrie helped us, and Loki allowed us to get to one of the ships. We got back to Asgard and fought my sister. I lost my eye in the process."

Stark gave a small nod as Thor waved a hand towards his right eyes, which was brown while his left was it's normal blue. Sighing heavily, the big man continued, "We won the battle, though it ended in the destruction of Asgard, but many of my people survived. We were headed to Earth when we were… stopped by Thanos. He killed half of my people while the rest escaped."

"Let me guess," Stark interrupted, rolling his eyes slightly, "Your brother was one of the few that survived?"

He waited as Thor's eyes darkened even more as he shook his head softly, replying in a low whisper, "No. He wasn't. Loki was… killed by Thanos' hand. My people were scattered across the cosmos, while I was picked up by a ship piloted by these people who called themselves 'Guardians of the Galaxy."

Rocket, the raccoon Stark had met before, gave a sour chuckle and added, "Yeah. I was one of them."

"We know." The robotic voice sounded, making everyone turn to the woman who had many robotic limbs and black eyes. This was Stark's companion and was called Nebula. She was glaring at Rocket through the flames, while Stark cleared his throat and told his former team members, "Yeah, I worked with the others of that team… and watched them die as well."

Thor gave a small nod, concluding his story, "The rabbit and this tree creature travelled with me to Nidavellir where I fashioned StormBreaker and returned to Earth to kill Thanos. Unfortunately, he did the Snap before I could kill him. I've spent the last year searching for my people… but we haven't found any of them yet."

Stark lowered his eyes and watched the flames while Thor took breath and said, "Well… that is my tale. How about you, Stark? Why are you here?"

"Oh, pretty the same reason as you." Stark took a deep breath and downed his cup of water, adding, "Of course, I'm not looking for groups of people. Like I said before, Nebula and I are going after Thanos. There's not much else to it."

They all fell silent, the crackling of the flames the only sound until Banner took breath and asked, "If you haven't been to Earth for a year, how is your suit charged?"

Giving a slight smile, Stark answered quietly, "I've been using the power from our ship to charge my suit. It's not quite the same as the power I'd get back home, but… it suffices. How are the others?"

He looked over at Banner, who sighed and answered, "Well… Steve and Natasha are still on Earth. We contact them every now and then, check how they are. But they were quite shaken up by the deaths of the others."

"Did no one else survive?" Stark inquired, staring at Thor and Banner beseechingly. They glanced at one another, Banner replying, "Well, I think your friend Rhodes survived. But… everyone else died in the snap."

Stark swallowed down the lump that had risen in his throat, trying to steady his breath as he asked quietly, "What about Pepper? Is she alive?"

Thor gave a soft smile, and told him, "Do not worry, Stark. She is safe and well, though she is wondering where you are. The Captain checks up on her every week."

A soft sigh of relief escaped Stark's lungs, for he had been wondering for so long whether his fiancé was still alive or had died along with others in the snap. Briefly closing his eyes, Stark looked back up at Thor and asked, "So, where are you headed now?"

"We'll be going to a different planet tomorrow." Thor asked, poking the fire with a stick, "Rocket says that it is called Trilia. It's a peaceful planet, and not quite advanced as Earth, but there have been rumours of strangers there. We've decided to check it out, see if there is any substance to these rumours."

Stark gave a small nod, before glancing over at Nebula and saying, "Maybe we could join you on your journey."

The others also looking over at Nebula, Banner turned back to Stark and asked, "Are you sure, Tony? What about your search for Thanos?""

Giving a soft sigh, Stark shrugged slightly and replied, "We've been looking for a year, and found nothing of him. Maybe we'll have better luck travelling with you guys. Who knows, maybe he's the source of these rumours."

"I agree." Nebula spoke in that robotic voice, making the others turn to her in surprise. She watched them for a second, adding, "It couldn't hurt to try and search other planets."

All giving small nods, Thor looked back to Stark, telling him, "We would be glad of your company. You may even get the chance to talk with the Captain. But if you wish to travel with us, you'll need to get some rest. We leave early in the morning."

He stood up, throwing away the remaining water in his cup and walking over to the large ship that lay beyond the line of trees, and just out of sight of the fire's light. Soon, the others followed Thor's example and left only Stark and Nebula by the fire.

Taking a deep breath, Stark turned to the robotic woman as she stood and said to him, "I'll move our ship closer so that we're ready to follow them in the morning."

Nodding agreement, Stark waited as she walked out of view of the light being spread by the fire, leaving him alone with his thoughts as he wondered how Pepper Pots was fairing, and what they would come across the next day. Taking a deep breath, Stark lay back on the log he was sitting on and stared up at the stars. Before long, his eyes closed and he fell asleep.

* * *

"Welcome to Trilia." Banner spoke over the intercom as they entered the atmosphere of the planet in front of them. Stark glanced over at his comrade that sat beside him, asking quietly, "Have you been here before?"

Nebula gave a short nod, flicking switches to prepare for landing while answering, "A few times. I hid out on this planet while Thanos was searching for me."

Stark nodded, turning his attention back to the landing of the ship next to Thor and Banner's own space craft, noticing that a small village lay not so far away. When the ship gave a small shudder as it landed on the ground, Stark hopped out of his seat and walked over to the door, grabbing a jacket along the way.

A cool wind blew as he stepped outside, making Stark give a shudder while walking over to his friends who were standing outside their own space craft. Thor walked over to him and told him, "Rocket says that he'll watch over the ships while we ask around in the village."

Giving nods of agreement, they began walking towards the village, talking to one another. Within the hour, the three men were to be found standing in the middle of the main square, exchanging what they'd learnt from the locals.

"Five men said that a group of strangers stayed in this village for a few months, before moving on. They didn't know where." Banner told his companions, glancing over at the stall owners that he had been talking to.

Stark gave a quiet grunt of agreement, saying, "The guys I talked to said the same. Except one of them said that they'd been asking about another stranger in one of the other villages."

They both turned to Thor as he looked around, telling them, "One of the men I spoke to told me the same. He said that there had been rumours of another stranger that arrived in another village about a year ago."

All exchanging wide eyed glances, Stark looked around before hissing, "You think it might be Thanos?"

"It's a possibility." Banner gave a soft nod, before turning to Thor and asked quietly, "Did this man say which village?"

Thor gave a small smile, replying quietly, "Yes, he did."


	3. Chapter 3: Surprises

_**Hey guys. Glad you all liked the last chapter. Thanks again to all those who've favourited my story. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Got a little surprise for all of you at the end.**_

Chapter Three: Surprises

The streets were busy that day, busier than they had been for nearly a year. Two woman walked down the muddy street, looking at the different items for sale on a many number of stalls. One of the woman, who was darker skinned than her companion, looked around with a bored expression on her face, her raven-black hair tied back.

"What's the point in coming here?" The black haired woman asked the other, who had dark red hair and aqua eyes. Giving a soft, understanding smile, the red-head replied quietly, "You sound just like my husband. Unfortunately, we do have to come here to restock supplies. Anyway, I thought that you wanted to see how your friends are doing."

A quiet murmur coming from further down the street interrupted their conversation. The black haired woman's eyes widened as an excited voice called through the crowd, "It's Thor! Thor has returned."

Not saying another word, the two began moving through the crowd towards the excited voices, the black haired woman quicken her pace as she spotted the figure of a large man. Breaking through the crowd, the black haired woman stepped over to the man and called his attention, "Your Majesty."

Thor's face split into a wide smile as he turned around to face her, giving a joyous cry before pulling her into a tight hug. Returning the embrace quickly, the woman backed away and allowed herself to be introduced to Thor's companions. Banner she already knew and shook his hand in welcome, before turning back to Thor who spoke loudly, "I'm glad to see you, and so many of my people alive."

He looked around at the familiar Asgardian faces that surrounded them. Nodding slowly, the valkyrie told the large man, "We've been on the move ever since Thanos attacked our ship. But there are still some others out there."

She waited as Thor nodded slowly, before adding, "It might be a good idea to talk somewhere else."

"We have ships." Thor answered quickly, turning to the direction he and his companions had come from. He stopped as the valkyrie held up a hand, saying, "I think it would be better to talk where I've been staying."

Thor frowned, turning back to face her while asking, "Why? We can leave and take you back to Earth."

"We came to this village following a rumour of a stranger that lives here." The valkyrie replied, glancing around at her fellow Asgardians before adding, "We thought that it might have been one of our people, or…"

She trailed off as Thor gave a soft nod and murmured, "Thanos. We heard the same rumours."

They turned to Banner who placed a thoughtful hand on his chin while asking, "Do you know where this stranger is?"

"I have an idea." The valkyrie replied with a smile, glancing over her shoulder at the red haired woman who was watching them curiously, "My local knowledge. We should speak with her."

Thor nodded agreement and turned to Nebula and Rocket, telling them, "Take my people back to one of the ships. We'll met up with you again as soon as we can. Keep in contact."

Rocket gave a quiet mutter, turning to face the Asgardians while saying loudly, "Alright. Follow me. His royal highness will see you again when he's got all the information he needs."

Stark stepped over to Nebula and murmured quietly, "Watch over them."

He waited until she gave a short nod and followed the group of people that began walking towards the place where they had landed the two ships. The remaining three turned back to the valkyrie who led them over to the red head, introducing them, "Your Majesty, this is my local knowledge."

Thor quickly shook the woman's out stretched hand, who then turned to Stark as he stepped forward and said, "I'm Tony."

"I'm married." The woman replied, making Stark's eyes widen while his two comrades gave soft chuckles. Smiling warmly, the woman turned to Banner who introduced himself, "I'm Bruce."

"Sonja." She replied, shaking his hand. She then turned to face Thor, who asked, "Is there somewhere we could talk?"

Giving a quick nod, Sonja answered warmly, "We can go to my house and speak there. But, only if you're willing to do some work."

Frowning, Stark exchanged glances with Banner, opening his mouth to ask what sort of work, but stopped as Thor nodded and told her in the same tone, "We would be glad to do anything you requested of us."

Nodding slowly, Sonja smiled and began leading the way back down the street, the valkyrie falling into step beside her. They travelled for many minutes, not speaking again until they were standing outside the front door of a house that lay in the middle of large fields. Banner turned to the valkyrie, saying, "So, Val… you said that you had an idea as to where this stranger was?"

"Yes, I believe him to be on a trading trip with other men." Val replied, following Sonja through the door into the house. The three men also entered the house, stepping into a long hallway with different rooms branching from it.

Sonja led the way into the kitchen, pulling off her coat while telling the group, "Yes, my husband is away with other men from the village. They should return later today or tomorrow."

Thor paused for a moment, staring at Sonja with a shocked expression on his face, making everyone frown at him while Stark asked quietly, "What is it?"

He pointed at Sonja's slightly protruding belly, making the woman give a quiet laugh and place her hands on her belly, replying, "Yes, my husband's and I's first child. Nothing to worry about."

"It just surprised me. That's all." Thor replied, clearing his throat while turning his gaze elsewhere. Sonja smiled and moved to the stove, where a pot stood with steam sneaking out from under the lid.

Val watched Thor for a few moments, before turning to Banner as he sat down at the provided table and asked, "Uh, what sort of trading is your husband involved in?"

Sonja shrugged slightly, answering while stirring the stew in the pot with a spoon, "Furs from past hunting trips. Produce from our crops. Leather…"

"Leather?" Val interrupted, making the others frown at as she continued, "I though you said leather is highly prized and rare to trade."

They all turned back to Sonja as she bit her lip, replying quietly, "Yes, well… Rune isn't originally from this village."

Again the three men frowned, Stark raising a hand while asking, "I'm sorry… who's 'Rune'?"

"My husband." Sonja answered. Stark gave a small nod while Banner raised his eyebrows and inquired, "If your husband isn't from the village, where is he from?"

Sonja took a shaky breath, glancing down at the ground while answering quietly, "I… don't know. Neither does he. I found Rune in my family's field nearly a year ago. I cared for him, brought him back to health. But he has no memory of his life before I found him. Not even his real name."

Val took a step forward, her face blank with shock while muttering slowly, "So… this stranger we've heard of in these rumours… is your husband?"

They all waited in silence, while Sonja took another shaky breath before answering in a trembling voice, "Yes. He is. I had hoped that after all this time, he would be accepted by my people and that we would live in peace."

She sighed heavily and turned back to the stove. Thor glanced at his companions, before looking back at the distressed woman and telling her, "If he is one of my people, we may be able to help him get his memory back. But until he returns, we will do anything you ask of us."

He gave her a warm smile as she turned to him in surprise. She then returned the smile, replying in a grateful voice, "Thank you. But I must warn you… farm work is difficult."

* * *

The next morning was cool, a light frost spreading across the plants that spread across the fields. Sonja woke a short time after the sun had risen, wrapping her shoulders in a shawl that had once belonged to her mother. Stepping into the kitchen, Sonja paused for a moment as she spotted a rose lying on the table.

Her breath catching in her throat, Sonja didn't need to open the note to know who had left the flower, for it wasn't any type of rose. It was one of the rarest plants on her planet, the flower's petals nearly completely clear and a strong, sweet scent filling the room. Quickly, she collected the rose and placed it in a glass vase filled with water.

A soft smile curling on her lips, she turned to look out the window and rubbed her belly in circular patterns as she spotted a man in the fields with a dog following closely. For the next hour, Sonja moved around the kitchen, collecting the required items that she needed to make porridge.

Soft groans called her attention, making Sonja turn around to see Thor, Stark and Banner stepping into the room, stretching their arms and backs as they walked. Thor sat down while groaning, "I haven't felt this sore since I was starting my training as a warrior."

"I don't remember the last time I slept without any nightmares like that." Stark replied, taking the seat beside him with Banner also sitting down, nodding agreement. Sonja couldn't help the small smile that curled around her lips, saying, "I told you farming's hard work. Don't worry. You won't need to do anymore work. Rune's returned."

She glanced over her shoulder at them as they glanced around, Thor frowning slightly as he asked, "Where?"

Chuckling quietly, Sonja looked out the window again, answering, "He's out in the fields. He's been there since dawn. You'd think he'd rest after returning from a tiring trip…"

The rest of her sentence was cut off as she shook her head, turning back to the stove and the pot she had been cooking in. A few minutes later, Val stepped into the kitchen stumbling slightly as she walked to sit down next to Thor.

"Late night?" Stark asked with raised eyebrows. Val gave an annoyed groan, answering while stifling a yawn, "I was up half the night trying to get to sleep. Then this morning I thought I heard a sound."

Sonja placed a bowl of porridge in front of her, biting her lips slightly while saying, "That was most likely Rune or Oddy you heard returning from their trip."

Banner frowned at her, repeating, "'Oddy'? Who's that?"

"Our dog." Sonja smiled again, placing bowls in front of the others, who muttered their thanks. She gave a quiet sigh and turned back to the window, muttering to herself, "I'll have to go and tell Rune that breakfast is ready. Excuse me."

She opened the back door and stepped out into the cool wind, pulling her shawl more closely around her. As Sonja neared the tall, black haired man, the dog beside him barked and ran over to her. She smiled and patted the grey, shaggy coat before turning back to the man and told him, "Breakfast is ready."

He sighed and kissed her cheek, his black beard brushing across her face before he straightened his back, replying, "Thanks dear, I'll be there in just a minute."

"Rune. You've been away in another town for the last week, returned home early this morning and you've been out here since dawn." Sonja tilted her head to the side as she watched her husband, before placing her hands on his arm, telling him quietly, "Come inside. Please, Rune."

Exhaling deeply, Rune threw down the trowel he had been using and placed an arm around Sonja's shoulders and began walking back in the direction of the house with her. She shook her head and looked up at him, saying, "I don't know how you can stand being out here every day. It's freezing."

Giving a soft chuckle, Rune rubbed her arm while replying, "The cold doesn't bother me so much. Who were those people sleeping in the sitting room this morning?"

"Help." Sonja answered, making her husband pause and look down at her, saying, "I don't need help, Sonja."

Sonja sighed and shook her head, pulling him on while replying quietly, "I know you don't need help, Rune. But you forbade me from exerting myself while you were away, remember?"

Rune gave a small nod and wrapped his arms around her more tightly while she added, "Anyway, they'll be leaving soon. You don't need to worry about them getting in your way."

They exchanged soft chuckles, walking to the back of the house where Sonja stepped inside while Rune stopped in front of the old water trough that stood next to the wall, rolling up his sleeves so that he could wash his hands. Splashing the cool water onto his face, Rune grabbed the cloth on the edge of the trough and stepped inside, drying his face and beard.

"You are a fantastic cook, Lady Sonja." Thor spoke loudly, spooning a large mouthful of porridge into his mouth. Stark gave a quiet chortle, before slapping his friend's arm and pointing over at Rune, saying to him jokingly, "Watch it, Thor. She's taken and the hubby's around."

He and the others turned to face Rune as he stepped over to his wife, who handed him a bowl and spoon. Muttering his thanks, Rune leaned against the kitchen counter and placed the spoon in his mouth, watching the group from under the curls of hair that fell down his forehead.

Val opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as the grey dog that had followed Sonja inside, jumped up and placed it's muddy paws on her legs. Giving shouts of shock, Val jumped up and waited as Rune placed his bowl aside and grabbed the dog's collar.

"Bad dog, Odin!" Rune cried, opening the door and pushing the dog outside. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the group again, pulling his hair back while telling them, "I'm sorry for that. Odin's normally well behaved."

He frowned as their jaws dropped open as they continued to stare him with wide eyes. Each of them shook their heads slowly, unable to believe what was before their eyes. It wasn't possible. There was no possible way… It just couldn't be…

"Loki?!"


	4. Chapter 4: Raging Storms

_**Well... how about THAT for a surprise? Loki is alive?! Well, I hope you all enjoyed that little shocker. And I hope you all enjoy this chapter too. ;)**_

Chapter Four: Raging Storms

"Brother! You're alive!" Thor stepped forward, raising his arms in welcome. Rune stepped away from him, backing away to where his wife stood while saying, "I'm sorry… but I don't know who you are."

Thor paused for a moment, his smile wavering as he replied in an uncertain voice, "Loki? What game are you playing?"

Sonja glanced up at her husband, before turning back to the small group, telling them, "I told you that he doesn't remember anything from before I found him."

Rune lowered his eyes, biting his lip slightly while Stark scoffed loudly, "Oh, come on. You don't really believe him, do you? But don't worry, you're not the first that the great God of Mischief has fooled, and you won't be the last."

"Tony…" Banner whispered under his breath, while Rune took a step towards Stark, his face lined with rage as he hissed, "I am insulated by your suggestion that I am… using my wife to forward my own betterment."

He stared down at Stark, who returned the glare while replying in the same tone, "What makes you think I was suggesting it?"

Before any of them could say a word, Rune raised his fist and punched the man in front of him, making Stark fly to his right and knocked into the kitchen counter. Grabbing an item from the bench, Stark turned to face his foe again, smashing the object against the left side of Rune's face.

"Rune!" Sonja cried as her husband fell to the floor, raising a hand to his face as droplets of blood began trickling down his pale skin. Giving a groan, Rune gave a hiss as he sat up, cutting his hand on the pieces of broken glass that lay beside him.

All of their eyes widened slightly as Rune looked down his hand, before glaring up at Stark again as he got to his feet. Taking a step towards his foe, Rune watched as Stark raised his hands in defence while saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't know what it was…"

He raised his arms above his head as Rune raised his fist, but stopped as he was pulled away by Thor, who called loudly, "That is enough, brother!"

"Let go of me!" Rune pulled himself out of the large man's grip, and turned to face him. Sonja moved to stand beside her husband, telling the small group, "I think it would be better if you leave. Now."

She took hold of Rune's arm and led him out of the kitchen, looking on the cuts on the side of his face and his hand. Thor gave a quiet sigh and turned to his companions, seeing that Banner and Val were still staring around them with wide eyes while Stark slowly got back to his feet, breathing heavily.

A few moments passed before anyone spoke, Banner clearing his throat while saying, "Well… I think it's safe to assume to that he's not lying."

"What did you antagonise him, Stark?" Thor turned to their companion who was still leaning against the counter, his eyes wide as he turned to Thor. Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Stark pushed himself away from the bench, he straightened his shirt and said, "I thought that he would… give himself away. Conjure up a knife or something. I didn't mean to smash that glass over his head, I was just defending myself."

Banner shook his head slowly, muttering, "I still think you took it too far, Tony."

Val stepped between to the two men, holding up a hand towards Stark, making him stop as he opened his mouth to say something. She then turned back to Thor and told him, "However you want to look at it, you can't deny that he isn't your brother anymore. Now that we've outstayed our welcome here, I think we should collect our things and go to your ships."

Thor gave a quiet sigh as she turned away and walked into the hallway to the sitting room she had been sleeping in for the past week. Banner quickly followed her while Stark stepped over to the back door, muttering quietly, "I'll contact the others and tell them we're on our way."

Giving a soft cough to clear his throat, Thor stepped out into the hallway and walked over to the small bedroom that he had slept in the last night. He paused for a second, glancing into the bedroom that he stood outside and listened to the quiet murmurs of the couple inside.

"Rune, please calm down." Sonja told her husband while watching him pace from her seating position on the bed. Rune gave a quiet scoff, rubbing his chin with his uninjured hand, replying, "How can I be calm, when there are these people in our house, claiming to know who I am?"

Sonja exhaled quietly and shook her head, while Rune continued to pace. After a few seconds he stopped and looked down at her, his face softening as he sat down beside her while saying, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, Sonja. It's just… difficult. I've finally learnt to place all of this aside and continue on with life… then it all comes back again."

He trailed off, shaking his head slightly while his wife placed her own head on his shoulder speaking in a calming voice, "No, Rune. I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget how hard all of this has been on you."

Thor quietly stepped away as the two cuddled to one another, and continued to the next bedroom. He paused in the doorway, looking around the small room while thinking about what Sonja had told him the night before when she showed it to him. Herself and Rune were in the process of creating this room for their unborn child, and Thor felt a shiver run down his spine.

No matter what he had been told, he could only see Rune as his brother, as Loki. It was a strange sensation for Thor, thinking of his brother as a future father. This thought made another shiver run down his spine as he realised that would make him an uncle.

Shaking his head clear of these disturbing thoughts, Thor began gathering his items, while outside his window Stark was talking to Nebula on their com link, the strong, cool wind pulling at his hair and clothes.

"What's going on?" Stark called, wincing slightly as his comrade answered back, the transmission cracking up, "We're stuck in the middle of a storm. I don't recommend- off anytime soon."

Giving a groan of frustration, Stark glanced around before calling back, "Look, we'll arrive at the ship shortly. We'll just have to wait out the storm there."

Again, he winced as the crackling grew louder, nearly drowning out Nebula's voice as she responded, "I think- to be- un-. The storm's- stronger. It doesn't- likely to end -time soon."

The transmission suddenly cut out, leaving Stark to sigh heavily and placed the communication device back in his pocket, turning to face the house again. Giving a quiet sigh, Stark quickly stepped back inside the door, stamping his feet to circulate warmth back through his body.

He walked into the sitting room, where the others were waiting for him. They all turned to face him as he walked into the room, Thor getting to his feet and asking, "Well? What's happening?"

"Nebula said that the ships were stuck in a storm." Stark replied, shaking his head slightly while adding, "But I think that we should try and reach the ships and wait out the storm there."

Val and Thor gave small nods, before turning to face Sonja and Rune as they entered the room, the latter telling the group, "That would be unwise. The snow storms here are quite ferocious."

Stark ignored this, throwing his bag over his shoulder and replying, "I think I'll take the risk."

He turned towards the hall again and began walking to the door, stopping only when Rune stepped in front of him, hissing, "You may as well commit suicide if you try navigate through that storm. Believe me… I know."

Rune blinked and rubbed his left arm, turning back to his wife as she moved beside him. Stark frowned slightly and waited as Rune took a quick breath and continued reluctantly, "You'll just have to wait till the storm has passed."

"And how long will that take?" Banner asked, taking a step forward while watching them with a curious look on his face. Sonja exchanged glances with her husband, before answering, "Sometimes they can take weeks to die out… maybe longer."

The four of them gave soft cries of shock, staring at the two with wide eyes. Stark allowed his bag to drop to the floor and seated himself in a chair, his face blank. Slowly, the others followed his movements while Rune took a deep breath and turned to his wife, telling her, "I'll be back soon."

He turned to the door, pausing as Sonja placed a hand on his arm and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the bunker. Hopefully we won't need to use it." Rune gave a small smile, placing a kiss on her cheek before leaving the house. Thor and his companions frowned after him, Stark turning back to Sonja while inquiring, "What bunker was he talking about?"

Sonja sighed quietly and seated herself in the remaining seat beside Val, answering, "We have a bunker in our fields. We use it when storms get too violent for us to stay in the house."

They all soon fell silent, listening to the whistling of the wind that surrounded the house. After sometime had passed, Sonja got up and went into the kitchen where she began preparing some stew for dinner, glancing out of the window every now and then. Finally, just as Thor and the others came into the kitchen, the back door opened and Rune stepped in with Odin bonding inside behind him, both of them layered with snow.

"It's getting nasty out there. I wouldn't be surprised if we had to evacuate to the bunker tomorrow." Rune told his wife, pulling off his coat and shaking the snow out of his hair. Sonja quickly hugged, before giving a sharp inhale of breath, holding his hands in hers while saying, "Oh, you're freezing! Come on, I made some stew. That'll warm you up."

Rune gave a quiet sigh, rolling his eyes slightly as he followed her to the stove, telling her, "I'm fine, Sonja."

She shook her head, pouring the liquid into a bowl while replying in a brisk voice, "You always say. You know, I sometimes wonder if you can feel the cold."

Handing him the bowl, she watched him for a few seconds. Rune gave her a small smile and rubbed her arm before taking a seat at the table. Thor frowned softly, feeling that disturbing feeling again, but it was quickly forgotten as Sonja handed him his own bowl of stew.

* * *

The wind had grown stronger in the last few hours, the snow piling against the small house. Rune lay awake in bed while staring up at the ceiling, Sonja sleeping beside him. His mind was full of thoughts as he listened to the storm outside, Thor and his companions one of the stronger thoughts that came to him.

Was Thor really his brother? Why was Stark so hostile towards him? What was his life like before he lost his memory? Did he really want his memories back? This had been a major question in Rune's mind for the last year. Glancing down at his wife, Rune tried to push his thoughts aside while wrapping his arm around her more tightly.

Before he could allow his thoughts wonder any further, there was a loud crash, waking Sonja while Rune turned towards the hallway. He glanced over at his wife as she whispered quietly, "What was that?"

Giving a slight shrug, Rune threw the covers aside and stepped out into the hallway, the wind louder than before and a cool draught blowing towards him. Stopping outside the closed door of the bedroom for their unborn child, Rune glanced over at Sonja who was standing in the door way of their own bedroom.

Turning back to the door, Rune placed a hand on the knob and turned it, allowing the door to swing open. He raised his arm as a blast of freezing wind blew into his face, carrying snow and making him quickly close the door.

"Get your things." Rune told Sonja as he passed her. Her eyes wide, she followed him to their cupboard and pulled out warm clothing, pulling them on, while Rune placed some items into a bag. They then walked down the hall and entered the sitting room, just as another crash sounded, waking the others.

Val looked around sleepily, asking as the two neared, "What's going on?"

Rune threw them their things while answering, "The storm has worsen. We need to move to the bunker before the house is torn apart."

All exchanging glances, they quickly gathered their stuff and followed the two out of the door, each fighting against the strong wind that threatened to blow them over. Rune signalled over to an area in the field and wrapped his arms around Sonja's shoulders, helping her to trend through the knee-deep snow as they bowed their heads and walked, the grey dog following. It seemed like hours had passed by the time Rune stopped the group and dropped to the ground, moving snow aside to show a hatch.

With help from Thor, the two pulled the hatch open and lowered the others inside, Odin bonding down into the bunker. Rune was the last to descend, turning his sight back to the house as a great crashing sound came. The small house collapsed to the ground, making Rune's eyes widen before closing the hatch and climbing down to where the others stood, panting heavily.

"Is everyone alright?" Sonja asked, lightening a candle to show some light. Stark and Banner gave short nods, while Thor slumped into a seat and panted, "Even Jotunheim was not that fierce."

Rune stepped over to his wife, who turned to him with wide eyes as he whispered, "I'm so sorry, Sonja. The house is gone."

He waited as she placed a hand to her mouth, before pulling her into a tight hug. After some time had passed, Sonja shook her head and murmured quietly, "My family's lived there for six generations. It's never once failed us."

She looked up into Rune's face, her voice quiet as she whispered, "The village…"

"I don't see how anyone could have survived. And all the crops are gone." Rune answered quietly, lowering his head as tears begun forming in his wife's eyes. Everyone else lowered their gazes, their minds travelling to Rocket, Nebula and the surviving Asgardians.

Thor placed his head in his hands while his companions seated themselves, an uncomfortable silence falling between them as they listened to the howling wind above.


	5. Chapter 5: Avengers Reunite

_**SO... I know it's been a while and you're all probably wondering what's going on. Well, here's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy it because it took some time for me to finish it. Let me know what you think.**_

Chapter Five: Avengers Reunite

The storm raged all night, and didn't stop it's relentless howling until morning had well and truly risen above the horizon. The small group of people could be found fast asleep in the bunker, huddling near one another for warmth. Rune was the first to awaken, inhaling sharply as he raised his head, waking Sonja as well.

"What is it?" She murmured quietly, rubbing her eyes sleepily while her husband looked up at the hatch above them. He then stood up, making the others jerk awake. Thor cleared his throat while asking in a husky voice, "What's happening?"

His eyes widened as Rune climbed up to the hatch, listening intently before hissing down to the others, "There's someone out there."

They all quickly got to their feet as the creaking sound of the hatch opening came to their ears. Rune raised an arm over his eyes as the door opened and a stream of sunlight filtered down into the bunker, hurting their eyes. They all stared up at the two faces that appeared in the hatch way, a voice calling down to them, "You have no idea what a pain it's been for us to find you."

All giving quiet cries of joy, they all quickly followed Rune out the bunker and out into the snow covered ground and chilly air. Stark sighed heavily, turning to Rocket and Nebula while expressing his thanks in a low, husky voice, "Thank you. I don't know how much longer we could have stayed in there."

"Don't mention it." Rocket waved his words away, turning to Thor and telling him, "We better get out of here while we can. Looks like there's another storm coming our way."

He pointed over to the dark mass of clouds that were steadily crawling towards them. Rune and Sonja glanced at each, before the latter turned back to the raccoon and asked, "What about my people in the village? What has become of them?"

They all turned to Nebula as she spoke in that robotic voice, "The storm was too strong for the buildings. We've scanned the area, but it doesn't look like anyone's survived."

Sonja gave a soft gasp, and turned to her husband who collected her in his arms, whispering comforting words. Thor gave a quiet sigh, lowered his head, saying to the pregnant woman, "I am sorry about your people. But we must move on, take you and my own people to Earth."

Nodding slowly, Sonja turned back to Thor and told him, "Lead the way. There's nothing left for us here."

Banner glanced over at Thor, before pointing over to the ships that stood nearby and begun to lead the way. Sonja looked over at her husband, who nodded and told her quietly, "You go ahead. I'll get our things from the bunker and join you shortly."

Rune waited as she muttered agreement and followed Banner towards the ships, Odin bounding behind her. Thor watched as the black haired man climbed back down into the bunker, before following him. Rune waited as Thor turned to face him, before saying, "I'm quite capable of collecting these items. You don't need to help."

"I want to." Thor replied, picking up a bag that lay on the floor. Rune took a deep breath and turned to the other items in the bunker, saying over his shoulder, "A year ago… I woke up in here. I don't remember anything that happened before that. I only knew that my head hurt, I was bleeding and there were lights flashing and loud sounds calling for my attention."

He stepped into another section of the bunker, Thor frowning slightly as he followed. Rune gave a quiet groan as he lowered himself into the seat that stood in the section, while Thor looked around at the buttons and consoles with wide eyes. It was a few moments before he muttered in a low voice, "It's an escape pod!"

Rune glanced up at him, before giving a slight nod, replying, "Yes, I came to the conclusion that this vessel was a stranger to this planet like myself. I remember climbing out of here… but that's the only thing that I remember clearly. I've mostly had to rely on what Sonja's told me of my first few weeks here."

Thor watched as Rune frowned slightly and leaned forward, feeling around for something under one of the consoles, giving a soft groan as he sat back, holding something large and gold in his hands. Thor felt his jaw drop as he realised that it was Loki's helmet, a shiver running down his spine as Rune ran his hand over a patch of dried blood that lay on the gold of the helmet.

"We should, um… get back to the others." Thor murmured quietly, turning back to the hatch. Rune nodded slowly, following him closely while placing the helmet in his bag. They remained silent as they walked through the snow, which had grown deeper since the night before. Rune watched Thor curiously as the two stepped into the ship, stomping their boots free of any remaining snow.

Sonja stepped over to Rune, while the door closed behind them and the ship's engines slowly started up. Thor stepped into the cockpit where Stark and Nebula sat, asking them quietly, "Where are my people?"

He turned to Stark as he pointed at the other ship in front of them, answering, "They're over there with the raccoon and Banner. Don't worry, Thor, we'll keep in contact with them at all times."

Nodding slowly, Thor turned to go but stopped as Stark took a quick breath and turned to him, saying, "A message came in while you were gone. Cap wants to talk with you. There's a free screen over there."

"You should talk to him with me." Thor patted Stark's back, and stepped over to the screen that had been indicated. Stark gave a quiet groan, moving to stand beside his friend while Rune and Sonja watched silently from their seating position behind the two men as they turned on the screen. Two other faces appeared, both lined with shock as they stared at Stark, the blonde woman saying, "Tony. Glad you're alive."

Stark smiled grimly, replying, "Same here. How're things back home?"

Romanoff glanced at the man beside her, before shrugging and replying quietly, "About what you'd expect. Even now, everyone's still asking what happened. Did you find any of your people, Thor?"

Thor gave a short nod and replied, "Yes, we were successful in finding some of them, including Val. The valkyrie." He added quickly at their confused faces.

Giving nods of understanding, the man then frowned and said, "You don't sound too happy about that. You sure everything's alright, Thor?"

Clearing their throats, Thor and Stark exchanged glances before looking over their shoulders at the two behind them, making Sonja and Rune place their gazes elsewhere, while Thor answered in a low voice, "Everything's fine. We just came across something a little… unexpected."

Rogers frowned and looked down at Romanoff, who continued to watch the two men curiously, asking, "What do you mean?"

"You'll see soon enough. We're making our back home." Stark answered, tapping on the screen to show their flight plan while adding, "We should be there… sometime tomorrow."

He tapped the plan aside while Rogers nodded and said, "Alright. We'll see you then. And Tony…"

Stark, who had been about to step back over to the seat beside Nebula, paused and turned back to the screen as Rogers told him, "It's good to see you again."

Clearing his throat slightly, Stark shifted his feet and replied before returning to the seat, "Yeah. You too."

Thor muttered a farewell, ending the call and then turning to face Sonja and Rune, who were watching him curiously. Sonja looked at her husband, before asking Thor quietly, "What will happen to us when we arrive at this planet?"

"I am taking my people to Earth so they can start a new life. I will make sure that you are accommodated as well." Thor answered and waited as Sonja gave a small nod and lowered her head. But Rune frowned at Thor and spoke quietly, "What about me? I doubt that your friends are going to willingly let me roam their planet freely."

He continued to stare at Thor, who lowered his head while biting his lip. It was a few moments before he took breath and answered, "I don't know. But I promise that I will do my best to make sure that nothing happens to you, brother."

Rune gave a quiet sigh, biting his lip to hold back the retort that had risen to his tongue, glancing at his wife as she placed her hand on top of his own. Thor closed his eyes, realising what Rune had reacted to. He took breath and told him, "I'm sorry. It's hard for me to… not call you what I've known you to be my entire life."

Sonja looked up at Thor, giving him a small smile while speaking for her husband, "It's okay. We both understand how difficult all this is on you. But I think it's only fair to ask that you present some understanding on your part as well. After all… this memory loss challenges Rune's patience far more than your own."

Thor's eyes widened as Sonja stood up and made Rune stand up as well, before pulling him away to another area of the ship, away from the others' untrusting sight. Thor looked over at Stark and Nebula, feeling highly confused as he sat down and listened to the whir of the spaceship engines.

* * *

"Thor!" Rogers called as he and Romanoff approached the two ships that had been landed outside of the New Avengers Facility, making Thor turn around to face them. He gave a relieved smile and shook Rogers' hand, before backing away to stand next to Stark and Banner, saying, "Thank you, Captain, for helping me locate my people."

He glanced over to his people who were being led inside the Facility, all looking around them with uncertain gazes. Val broke from the crowd and stepped over to them, asking Thor, "Where are they being taken?"

Rogers held up a held, telling her, "It's alright. They're just being taken to where they can get some food and rest."

Val looked him up and down, before giving a slight nod. Thor gave a quiet sigh, turning back to his friend and telling him, "This is Val. She has been leading this group for the past year."

"Don't worry, you'll see them soon." Romanoff told her and waited as Val gave another nod in response. Banner cleared his throat, his gaze following two men who stepped into the ship behind them, before saying, "So, uh… what's been going on since we left?"

He turned back to Rogers as he sighed and crossed his arms, looking towards Rocket and Nebula who stepped over to them while Romanoff answered, "Riots have died down, some of the new world leaders are discussing a global peace treaty… and Colonel Rhodes wants all of you to come inside as soon as possible."

"Rhodey?" Stark raised his eyebrows in interest, making Romanoff give a small smile. Before anymore could be said, the two men walked out of the ship with Rune, Sonja and their dog closely following them, one of the men calling over to Rogers, "Sir. We found these two on the ship."

Giving a short nod, Rogers sent the two men away while the group stepped over to the couple. Rune turned to Thor, a soft smile curling the corners of his lips as he said to him, "I guess your… little surprise came sooner than you would have liked, Thor."

Thor nodded and bit his lip, glancing over at Rogers and Romanoff as they stared at Rune, their mouths opening and closing as they struggled to form words while placing a hand on their side arms. They then turned to Thor, Romanoff hissing quietly, "You said that Loki was dead."

"Ah, there seems to be some confusion in that area." Rune spoke, drawing their wide eyed gaze back to him as he held out his hand and added, "My name is Rune… not Loki."

When they didn't shake his hand, Rune let it fall while taking a deep breath, glancing at his wife as she patted his arm. Sonja turned to the shocked two, telling them, "You may know him as Loki, but a year ago he lost his memory and since then he's been Rune."

Rogers cleared his throat and turned to Stark who gave a small nod and told him, "It takes a bit of getting used to. To be honest, I'm still not entirely convinced of this memory loss."

Thor placed a hand to his forehead, giving a quiet groan before saying, "It might be better if we talked about this inside."

All agreeing, they begun making their way inside, Roger and Romanoff glancing over their shoulders at Sonja and Rune, who looked around them with wide eyes in awe as they walked through the hallways. After some minutes, they entered what appeared to be a conference room, where a man sat at the end of the long table. The man quickly stood up as the group stepped into the room, his face breaking into a smile as he walked over to Stark, calling, "Tony! Where have you been?"

"Rhodey." Stark embraced his old friend, a relieved smile spreading across his face, before backing away, saying, "I'm glad you're alright."

Giving a short nod of agreement, Rhodes turned to Thor and Banner, welcoming them as well. He then looked over at Rune and Sonja, frowning slightly as he took in the tall man's appearance, his short, black hair falling onto his forehead and his beard covering most of the lower half of his face. Rhodes looked back over at Stark, asking quietly, "Isn't that…"

He trailed off as Stark nodded, patting his back while replying, "Trust me, there's a lot of that going on."

Nodding slowly, Rhodes watched as Rune and Sonja seated themselves with the others before quickly taking a seat himself beside Stark. They all looked around at each, waiting for someone to say something. Stark sighed and tapped the table, before saying, "Well… it might be a good idea if we approach the elephant in the room."

They all turned to Rune, who looked around him in confusion, repeating questioningly, "'Elephant'? What is that? Are you referring to me?"

Stark sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head while Thor leaned towards Rune, telling him, "It's a very large creature of Earth."

"The point is," They all turned their attention back to Stark, who opened his eyes and looked back over to Rune, saying, "What do we do about him? His memory may be the only key we have to finding Thanos."

Rogers frowned slightly, replying, "I agree with you Tony, but… how are you planning on getting his memory back? Hitting him over the head."

"Tried that." Stark answered quickly, while Rune cleared his throat and looked down at his bandaged hand, feeling the cuts on the left side of his face. Romanoff shook her head, muttering quietly, "Of course you did."

Banner glanced around at the others, before saying, "Well… what can we do? I want to find Thanos as much as you, Tony, but we can't just… I don't know, hypnotise him or something."

He waited as Stark's eyes began to sparkle, his gaze turning to Rune as he whispered, "Now that's an idea. Hypnosis."

"I may not have much of a memory, but I know what hypnosis is and I don't care much for it." Rune replied, shaking his head slowly at Stark, who raised his eyebrows in surprise. Rogers frowned, asking quietly, "Has somebody tried to get your memory back by using hypnosis?"

Sonja sighed quietly, turning her gaze to the tabletop while nodding slowly and answering, "Not 'somebody'. It was me. I'm quite skilled in magical arts like hypnosis, but… Rune's mind was too difficult for me to enter."

Thor glanced around at the others, before frowning and asking quietly, "You didn't succeed in gaining any memory?"

Rune looked down, biting his lip slightly while Sonja glanced at him before answering, "There… was one thing."

All of them turned to Rune, his eyes out of focus as he whispered softly, "It was a vision of beauty. A palace of gold and a rainbow bridge. But not only was it beautiful… it was terrifying as well. Fires burning, the city being destroyed and battles being fought."

He paused, looking at all of them from beneath his eyelashes. Thor glanced around the others, his jaw dropping slightly in shock as he turned back to Rune, muttering, "Asgard. So not all hope is lost for your memory, brother."

"Do you think you could do it again?" Rogers asked Sonja, who turned to him with wide eyes. She glanced over at her husband, before shaking her head slowly, replying, "You don't understand. The last time…"

She stopped, clenching her hands together to stop them from shaking, while Rune placed a comforting hand on her back and continued for her in a low voice, "I, uh… pulled a blade on her. I nearly killed her."

Rune lowered his gaze, his face somber. Thor looked around at his companions, before turning back to Rune, saying, "What if we made sure that you couldn't harm anyone? Would you try then?"

Thor waited as he watched the two, Sonja looking towards her husband, who continued to stare at the table top with a thoughtful expression on his face. It was a few moments, before Rune took a deep breath and gave a short nod, answering, "Only if Sonja is willing to take that risk."

He turned to Sonja, who gave a weak smile and a short nod, her eyes wide and wet with frightened tears. She took a shaky breath and looked over at the Avengers, telling them, "When shall we start?"


	6. Question Needing Answered

_**Hey guys! Sorry it's taken so long for me to update this story, and just so you all know, I'm still working on the next chapter. But I do have a question, and would really like your thoughts.**_

 _ **So I've been watching Grimm recently, and I thought it would be really cool to do a crossover with this story and Grimm. What do you think?**_

 _ **Please, please answer either through private message or in the review section. Look forward to your replies.**_

 _ **P.S. Just so you all know, if I go through with this crossover, the Avengers are going to be the main characters in the remainder of the story.**_


	7. Chapter 6: Thanos and the Stones

_**Okay, so, nothing has been decided about the Grimm/ Avenger crossover. But I thought you would all enjoy this chapter, which is quite long. You have been warned!**_

Chapter Six:

"You sure this is going to hold him, Thor?" Stark glanced from the large man, to Rune who was strapped in his chair so tightly that he could barely move. Sonja looked towards the others, biting her lip nervously as she turned back to her husband, asking, "Are you sure you still want to do this?"

Rune raised his eyebrows at her, wriggling his wrists while replying quietly, "Too late to back out now. Don't worry, Sonja, it'll be fine."

Giving a short nod, Sonja looked around at the others and waited until they had seated themselves back down. Clearing her throat, she turned back to Rune and tapped his forehead lightly, making him close his eyes as he listened to Sonja's voice, "You are falling asleep, allowing long suppressed memories to play through your mind. What do you see?"

Ruin. Metal falling all around him as he stepped over the dead bodies of his people. Below, roaring and crashing sounded. He turned a corner and looked down at the scene that lay far beneath him. The green creature that he had set on the large, purple man had been beaten and was groaning softly. A rumble came, followed by a huge force of light that swallowed the green creature and sent him out into space. The large man, turned to the man who had summoned the bridge and said, "That was a mistake."

He watched as the man stabbed a spear through the gatekeeper's heart. Thor groaned, his voice husky as he spoke, "You will die for that!"

One of Thanos followers, the one who controled items with his mind made a piece of metal wrap around Thor's mouth, stopping him from saying anything more. The follower then picked up the Tesseract and offered it to Thanos, speaking loudly, "My humble personage bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay, the nobility to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones."

Thanos, who had stripped himself of his armour, took the glowing cube and stared down at it as it lay in his palm, beginning to crush it as his follower continued saying, "The universe lies within your grasp."

Everyone watched as the cube broke into small pieces, leaving a small gem in Thanos' palm. The large man blew on it, before holding up the gem and placing it near the golden gauntlet that covered his left hand. A flash of blue light appeared as the stone flew to one of the empty places on the the gauntlet.

"There are two more stones on Earth. Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan." The voice carried all the way up to the high spot where Rune stood, watching everything. But he wasn't concentrating on Thanos or his followers, who were kneeling. His gaze was focused on a man that he had cast a spell on, casting an image of himself on the man who was stepping towards the group, repeating everything Rune spoke, "If I might interject…"

All turned towards the man who appeared as Rune to their sight, no one knowing that he was watching far above, "If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that area."

"If you consider failure experience." Thanos answered, watching as Rune's double stopped in front of the group, replying quickly, I consider experience experience. Almighty Thanos. I, Loki, prince of Asgard…"

He paused, glancing over at Thor while continuing quietly, "Odinson… the rightful king of Jotunheim, god of mischief, do hereby pledge to you my undying fidelity."

Conjuring a dagger in his double's left hand, Rune watched while making the spell-bound man bow. A few moments passed as Rune's double took deep breaths, before dragging the dagger up towards Thanos' neck, the blade being stopped as by the blue stone on the large man's fist.

Thanos tilted his head slightly, muttering quietly, "Undying? You should choose your words more carefully."

Rune's double gave a groan of pain as Thanos wrapped a hand around his wrist making him drop the dagger. Everyone watched as the large man wrapped his hand around the double's neck, raising him into the air and making him kick his legs as he choked, "You… will never be… a god."

Turning his gaze away from the scene as Thanos cracked his double's neck, Rune quickly stepped through the ship and made his way to an escape pod, knowing that he had succeeded in fooling everyone that he was dead.

"And now wake." Sonja's voice cut through his thoughts, making Rune take a deep breath and open his eyes to see the others standing up with their hands resting on their weapons. Frowning slightly, he looked down at the bonds that were wrapped around his arms. His eyes widened as he saw that the bonds were loose and falling apart.

He looked back up at them, raising his hands in defence while saying quietly, "I swear, I mean you no harm."

Sonja gave a sigh of relief and ran forward, removing the bonds and then hugging him. Rune returned the embrace, placing a kiss on her cheek and then looking over her shoulder at the others. Thor exhaled quietly and relaxed his grip on the handle of his axe, looking over at his companions who also relaxed their grips, though more reluctantly.

Rune got to his feet, his gaze still fixed on Thor, who asked, "What happened? Did you remember anything useful?"

"It was like one of my nightmares." Rune answered, his voice low as he looked down at the ground, "It was all a bit of a haze… but I did remember some things. Including where this Thanos may be hiding."

They all stared at him with wide eyes, Stark glancing over at the others before turning back to him and saying quietly, "Well then… we'd better suit up."

* * *

Stark stared at Thor with wide eyes, shaking his head while hissing quietly, "No. We are not bringing him with us."

"We have to." Thor hissed back, glancing over at Rune and Sonja who stood close to one another, whispering indistinctly. Sighing quietly, he turned back to Stark and said, "He knows Thanos better than any of us."

Rubbing his eyes wearily, Stark gave a quiet groan before saying, "I don't know if you've noticed, but he's not exactly remembering a lot at the moment. Look, Thor, all he's going to do is slow us down or get us killed."

Thor gave a small scoff, shaking his head while again looking over at the couple, before replying, "He can take care of himself. I know that he hasn't got all of his memory, but I still want him by my side."

He watched as Stark raised his hands slowly and stepped over to the others while muttering something under his breath. Thor took a quick breath and also stepped over to the other Avengers, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rune was watching him from under his eyelashes. Rogers turned to Thor and asked, "So, Thor… what's the game plan?"

"We can use the Bifrost to travel to the world Thanos is hiding." Thor answered, looking over at Rune and Sonja as they walked over to them. Rogers nodded slowly, and waited as Thor continued, "We then need to find a way of getting to the Infinity Stones. Use a distraction or something."

Stark closed his eyes and shook his head, while Banner looked around at the others before asking quietly, "What did you have in mind."

Thor gave a grim smile and glanced over at Rune, biting his lip while saying, "I was kind of hoping that you may have an idea about that."

Rune's eyes widened and pointed at himself slightly, replying with a slight stutter, "Me? What can I do? Other than offer a target."

Stark gave a fake chuckle, crossing his arms while the others looked down at the ground or shook their heads. Thor shrugged slightly, telling them, "Thanos thinks you're dead. That may distract him long enough for us to take him down and get the Stones."

"And once you have these Stones, you're going to… what?" Rune frowned at him slightly, before scoffing and saying, "I'm not going anywhere."

He turned to walk away, stopping as Sonja placed a hand on his arm and whispered to him, "I think you should go."

All of their eyes widened as they glanced at one another, Rune frowning as he turned to his wife, muttering, "Sonja… I'm not leaving you."

"I'll be fine. But right now, they need your help… as hard as it is to believe." Sonja glanced at the group, before turning back to her husband and moving to whisper in his ear so that the others couldn't hear. His eyes slowly widened, before pulling himself back and looking down into her face, muttering quietly, "Are you sure?"

Sonja gave a short nod. Rune sighed and turned to the group, asking in a small voice, "What do you need me to do?"

Thor felt his eyes widen in surprise as he exchanged glances with the others, seeing that they were just as surprised as he. He turned back to Rune, stuttering as he said, "Well, uh… I was kind of hoping that you might be able to cast an illusion of yourself, or… something."

Now it was Rune who stared at him with raised eyebrows, glancing over at the other Avengers while giving a quiet scoff, a smile starting at the corners of his lips. When he realised that they weren't joking, his face slowly falling while he continued to stare around at them.

It was a few moments before he swallowed and looked down at the ground, speaking in a quiet voice, "You're talking about that… thing I did when that Thanos person was about to kill you… and me."

"You remember that?!" Thor cried, hope building in his chest. Rune gave a small nod, looking at them all from under his eyelashes. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his forehead wrinkling as he seemed to concentrate on something.

Some seconds passed, all them watching Rune with raised eyebrows and so they all jumped as a voice sounded behind them, "Pardon me for the roughness."

They all turned around in surprise and felt each of their jaws fall as they saw Loki. Standing tall and clad in golden armour, which included the horned helmet. Thor turned from Rune, back to the image of Loki who was saying, "Is this what you were talking about?"

Rune exhaled loudly and opened his eyes, making the image of Loki slowly disappear and the others turn to face him as he placed a hand to his forehead. Sonja placed a hand on her husband's arm, who gave her a soft smile and whispered, "I'm fine. But it did take a lot of energy out of me. Like doing a full week's worth of farm work in two minutes."

"Well, it certainly looked convincing." Rogers spoke quietly, his eyes trailing to where the image of Loki had appeared. Thor and the others nodded agreement, before Romanoff asked Rune, "Think you can get the hang of it before we run into Thanos?"

Stark gave a soft scoff, turning to her while saying, "You're joking, right? He may be able to produce an image of himself, but Thanos is going to see right through it the moment he sees him."

Thor shook his head, crossing his arms while telling him, "It doesn't matter. As long as it distracts Thanos long enough for us to attack him…"

He trailed off, shaking his head while looking at his companions who were all nodding slowly. Thor turned to Rune, pausing for a few seconds before saying, "Get what you need. We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

Rune gave a small nod and turned to Rogers who told him as he walked past, "We'll be outside, in the ship."

Slowly, the group shuffled out of the room, Thor looking over his shoulder as the door closed behind him, seeing that Rune and Sonja were looking at one other worryingly. Thor sighed and followed the others, trying his best not to allow the hope that was in his chest to overwhelm him as he walked. But no matter what he did, he couldn't help but think that his brother may not be so lost to him after all.

* * *

Rune took a deep breath, glancing over his shoulder at Sonja who stood by the door of the facility. He slowly raised his hand in farewell and waited as she waved in turn, before turning back to face the ship that they had arrived in.

Banner and Romanoff stood at the bottom of the ramp that led into the space craft, both watching him as he neared. Rune cleared his throat and lowered his gaze, bowing his head slightly as he entered the ship with the others following closely.

The door closed behind them, and the engines begun to power up as Rune moved through the corridors of the ship, the footsteps of the other two echoing loudly behind him as he made his way to the cockpit of the ship.

"I thought you said we were going to use the Bifrost to get to Thanos?" Stark was saying to Thor as the three stepped into the large room, Romanoff passing Rune as she made her to one of the seats that sat in front of the controls. Thor glanced at Rune, before turning back to his comrade and telling him, "We will. The Bifrost can carry us and and the ship to the planet. We don't know what the atmosphere is going to be like when we get there. The ship can offer us protection and air when we arrive."

Stark gave a small nod before turning to Romanoff and frowning, asking, "Do you even know how to fly this?"

Romanoff looked over his shoulder at him, giving a slight smile while replying, "I know more than you think, Stark. Plus it's not that different from the Quinjet. It shouldn't be too difficult to handle."

"You may want to press that red button before attempting to leave the ground." Rune told her while placing his bag on an available seat, turning to face the others while they watched him in surprise. He frowned at them, shrugging his shoulders while replying, "What? It's just a suggestion, unless you want the ship to blow up with us inside it."

He cocked his eyebrows at them and waited as Stark gave a quiet scoff and raised his arms to the control consoles, asking, "You want to give to it a go, Mr. I-know-everything-to-do-with-flying-an-alien-spacecraft? Be our guest."

Though he knew very little about Stark, Rune knew from the tone he adapted when speaking to him that they weren't going to get along, if they ever had. Rune also knew that Stark was messing with him, but he couldn't help but want to prove him wrong. Giving Stark a hard stare, Rune slowly stepped over to the other seat in front of the control console and sat down, pressing multiple buttons while the others watched him with wide eyes.

Romanoff opened her mouth to speak while the ship rumbled, following the instructions that Rune had given it. She closed her mouth again as the ship lifted itself off the ground and headed towards the blue sky. Rogers stepped into the room, pausing as he spotted Rune at the controls and turning to Stark and Thor, asking while raising his hand to the man, "You okay with this?"

"Stark challenged him." Thor answered, watching Rune while a soft smile started to curl on his lips. Rogers gave a small nod, taking breath and making Thor turn back to him as he said, "So, how are you going to use the Bifrost to get us to the planet?"

Thor lifted up his axe and spun it around a little, while Rune looked his shoulder at him, listening as the large man told his companions, "With this. It has the power to summon the Bifrost. We can go whenever you're ready."

Rogers gave a small nod, and glanced around at the others before saying, "Do it."

"Pardon me for interrupting…" They all turned to Rune, who turned his seat to face them, asking, "But what is this Bifrost you keep talking about?"

He waited as Thor smiled at him and dropped the end of the handle against the metal floor with a thud as he said, "This."

The ship shook violently, making Rune turn around to face the console. But before he could press any buttons, his eyes widened and he slowly got to his feet as a kind of portal with many lights opened in front of him. Thor watched as Rune continued to stare at the many colours that surrounded the ship, shaking his head slowly before giving a hiss of pain.

They all raised their hands towards him, calling his name in question. But he ignored them as his head begun to pound and a memory surfaced in front of him. The same colours surrounded himself and Thor, who turned to look down at him and something behind him.

"Loki!" Thor called down to him, making him turn around to look down at the woman who was following them, her body covered in black with strange horns protruding from her head. Rune's eyes snapped open, his throat tightening as he took deep, shaky breaths while running his fingers through his hair, muttering to himself, "No… it can't be. It was a dream… it had to be."

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the others exchanged confused glances, before Thor turned to him and asked, "What is it?"

Before he could answer, the ship gave a loud rumble again, making Rune retake his seat at the controls and steer the ship through the sky. The others stepped closer to the screen and stared out at the green rolling hills, each of them looking over at Rune and asked, "Is this the planet?"

Rune gave a small nod and replied in a whisper while preparing the spacecraft for landing, "This is the place. We should land here… keep the element of surprise on our side."

They all exchanged glances, but didn't say anything as the ship landed on one of the hills. Rune watched as the Avengers collected their things and followed them out of the ship, shouldering his pack as he stepped out into the fresh air with the others. The group walked for ten minutes, before slowing down and crawling up a hill on their bellies, stopping just on the crest of the hill so that they could look over at the small hut-like house in the valley.

Romanoff pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked through them at the house while telling the others, "There's someone in there. Can't quite make out who it is."

She passed the binoculars to Rogers, who also stared down at the house, nodding slowly and he said, "Whoever it is, they're alone."

"It must be Thanos." Stark muttered, moving himself up the hill a bit more. Thor gave a small nod of agreement and replied quietly, "I agree, but we need to be certain."

Banner thought for a few seconds, glancing at the others before telling them, "It would probably be better to draw them outside. That way we can see who it is."

They all gave nods of agreement, Stark turning to Rune and telling him, "Well… looks like you're up. That is, if you're going to help."

Rune glared at him for a few seconds, before turning back to the house and muttering quietly, "I agreed to, didn't I?"

He ignored Stark's quiet scoff and concentrated on the green, flat field that lay just outside the house. They all jumped slightly in surprise as the Loki image reappeared, the wind blowing at his green cape while the sun shone against his golden armour. Rune frowned slightly and glanced over at the others, asking quietly, "Is that seriously what I look like?"

None of them answered, Thor and Banner looking at one another before turning back to look down at the Loki image. Rune sighed quietly and concentrated on the illusion, whispering under his breath, "Thanos."

"Thanos!" Loki in the field called loudly, repeating what Rune muttered quietly, the others glancing at him as he did so, "You didn't really think that you could rid yourself of me so easily, did you?"

All of them inhaled sharply and waited with baited breath as the door to the house opened and a large man stepped out into the light. He stepped closer to Loki, speaking in a booming voice that carried to the Avengers who were preparing themselves to attack, "I should have known you would escape me somehow, Asgardian. But it was a mistake to come back here, asking for death."

Loki gave a taunting laugh, and raised his arms while saying, "You didn't really think that you could ever kill me, did you? Not even my sister could do that. And believe me… she had a lot more power than you do at the moment."

"He's not wearing the glove." Stark told the others, who looked at one another, Rogers asking, "If he hasn't got it, then where is it?"

Banner gave a small shrug and replied, "Maybe it's in the house. But we can't search the house and keep Thanos busy at the same time."

"I don't need the Stones to take care of you, Asgardian." Thanos called their attention back, making all of them focus on the large man who was stepping over to Loki, who just smirked and replied, "You may regret that."

Rune created a second image behind Thanos, who was stepping over to the first image. Rune whispered out of the corner of his mouth to the Avengers, "Go, now. I'll search the house with Banner."

All giving small nods, they each got to their feet, Rune created many images of Loki, so many that it was impossible to count how many there were. Thanos looked around in surprise as each Loki jumped and attacked the large man while the Avengers ran down the hill, Thor breaking through the images of his brother before the others, lightening spreading down from the sky and from his body as he brought his axe down on Thanos.

Banner tapped Rune's shoulder and led the way down to the house, Rune glancing over at the Avenger's as they battled, Thanos only just keeping them at bay as they attacked, over and over. The two men ran into the house and began searching, listening to the battle that was happening outside. They ran through each of the rooms, searching high and low, Rune glancing out of the window at the battle that continued on, Thanos knocking Romanoff and Rogers aside.

"It's not here." Banner called from the other room, calling Rune's attention back to the search. He turned to Banner who stepped into the room, shrugging while asking, "What do we do now?"

Rune inhaled deeply, glancing out the window again at the Avengers, before turning back to Banner and telling him, "They need help. Your help."

He waited as Banner's eyes widened, pointing at himself while stuttering in a higher voice than normal, "Me?! What can I do. Hulk hasn't come out for a year because he got his butt beaten up by Thanos last time they went up against each other! I can't go out there, I'd get pummelled! You'd have more of a chance!"

"What is a Hulk?" Rune asked, shrugging his shoulders in bewilderment. He looked out the window again, and a gave a quiet groan of annoyance, before turning back to Banner and saying, "Either way, we have to go out there. Surely you can do something to help them?"

Banner shook his head I annoyance, but didn't say anything as the wall facing the battle collapsed into rubble. Rune turned to face Thor who gave a quiet groan and got to his feet, turning to face the two men. His eyes widened as he hissed, "Get out of here. It was a trick!"

They both watched as Thor was knocked aside, the remaining walls of the house melting as the illusion that Thanos had cast on them faded. Rune's own eyes widened and he turned to Banner as the large man appeared in front of them, raising his left hand that held the gauntlet and the six stones that glowed brightly.

"And you thought that you were the God of Mischief." Thanos muttered, stepping towards the two men while Rune pushed Banner through out of the room. They panted heavily as they ran, Thanos following closely while calling after Rune, "I will admit, Asgardian, I was quite surprised to see that you were still alive. But don't worry… I won't make the same mistake of letting you live twice."

Rune and Banner rushed outside, not pausing as they continued to run past the other Avengers, all who were lying on the ground, defeated as the two tried their best to outrun Thanos. But they couldn't escape as the large man used the glove to stop them and bring them back to him, Thanos raising his left hand and curling it around Rune's neck.

Banner was forced to his knees while Rune struggled to loosen the grip around his neck. Thanos tilted his head as he seemed to consider the man in his grip, before speaking in a slow voice, "There's something different about you… something missing."

"That would be the memory loss. Sorry to disappoint." Rune gave a slight smirk and watched as Thanos tilted his head questioningly again. Rune sighed quietly and rolled his eyes before saying, "Look, not that I want to spoil your fun or anything, but can you hurry up with the killing me part? I have somewhere to be, and I'd rather not be late."

He waited as Thanos gave a quite chuckle, and spoke again in that low rumble, "I don't remember you being so eager to die last time we met."

Rune gave a quiet groan, looking towards the sky while saying, "My plan isn't dying. Just distracting you until he gets up."

Thanos frowned and turned around to face the house again, letting go of Rune's neck and turning to face Thor as he flew through the air, knocking the large man down with his axe. Thor lifted his axe and knocked the gauntlet off his hand, before pressing the blade against the large man's neck.

Banner gave a groan of relief as he was released from the power that was over him. The other Avengers also gave calls of relief as they quickly got to their feet and turned to face Thor and the others that were a short distance away.

"Get the gauntlet!" Thor called over his shoulder to the others. Rune looked down at the gauntlet, which lay at his feet. He glanced around at the others, before picking it up and making everyone stare at him with wide eyes. Stark pointed at him and asked quietly, "Is that such a good idea? Letting him have the stones?"

Rogers shrugged and shook his head, looking over at Thor for an answer. Romanoff stepped over to Banner and helped him get to his feet, both of them watching Rune with a weary eyes as he stared down at the golden gauntlet, one of the stones glowing brighter than the others.

Thor looked over his shoulders at his companions, frowning slightly as he saw the confused expression that lay on the man's face. Quiet voices were calling to Rune as he stared down at the Mind Stone which seemed to speak to him, images flashing through his mind. Images that were familiar to him. Memories.

"Rune?" Banner called, but the man didn't react as he stared down at the stone, his pupils dilated to the point that the iris of his eyes could barely be seen. Thor frowned at the others, before calling loudly, "Loki?! Are you okay?"

He broke his gaze with the stone, his pupils returning to normal as he turned towards Thor. Slowly shaking his head, he muttered quietly while moving the gauntlet over his hand, "I'm sorry."

All of their eyes widened and all the Avengers except Thor stepped towards Rune as he closed his fist, activating the power of the Infinity Stones. All six glowed brightly, making everyone raise their arms to bloke out the brightness. A giant yell of pain came from Rune's direction, followed closely by a sound that closely resembled an explosion, knocking everyone down while throwing dirt and grass up into the air.

Thor gave a quiet groan, grabbing his axe as he got to his feet, looking around at his comrades who were brushing away dirt from their clothes and armour as they also got to their feet. Thor looked around and saw that a crater surrounded them, and lying motionless in the middle of the crater was Rune.

"What happened?" Rogers asked, watching as Thor rushed over to the unconscious man. Stark slowly shook his head and stepped over to Thor's side with the others, staring down at Rune's left hand, which was covered by the gauntlet. Romanoff raised her eyebrows while Stark gave a quiet whistle, his eyes widening as he looked down at the empty, and blackened gauntlet.

Thor kneeled down next to Rune, placing a hand on the man's chest to check that he was still breathing. Giving a quiet sigh of relief, Thor turned to the others and told them, "He's alive."

Rogers frowned down at the two men as Rune's face slowly began to turn a blue-grey colour and patterns begun to form on his forehead. The others slowly backed away, all staring down at the man as well, making Thor glance up at them before shaking Rune's shoulder, whispering, "Brother. Wake up."

A light groan came from Rune rolled his head and opened his eyes, looking up into Thor's face. The Avengers all exchanged glances as they noticed that Rune's eyes were red as he whispered quietly to the man who was kneeling above him, "Thor? What-"

He broke off with a hiss of pain, sitting up suddenly and pulling his left hand out of the gauntlet. They all stared down at him as he gave quiet whimpers and gripped his wrist, staring down at his burnt and blooded hand. Thor slowly helped the man to his feet while telling him, "It's going to be alright, brother."

Thor glanced down at the gauntlet, giving a quiet sigh as he turned back to Rune, muttering quietly, "You destroyed the Stones. Everyone's safe now."

"No!" Rune cried, shaking his head while trying to hold back the pain that throbbed in his hand. He took deep breaths and hissed, "We need to get out of here. Now! The power of destroying the Stones… was too great. I didn't mean to… but this planet will be destroyed within fifteen minutes and us with it if we don't get out of here… now."

He stared up at all of them with exhausted eyes as they exchanged worried looks, before making their way back to the ship, Thor wrapping his arm around Rune as he helped him stumble through the grass, no one looking back at Thanos who had a long cut along his throat and breathed no more.

Stark reached the ship first, pressing a button to lower the ramp. He rushed inside the ship with the others following closely behind him as he ran into the cockpit, looking out of the window at the land in front of them, which was cracking and shaking violently. Thor struggled into the cockpit with Rune, crying to Stark, "Okay, get us out of here!"

Romanoff seated herself in the seat next to Stark and helped him lift the spacecraft into the air and turn to face the sky, pushing the engines to their limit while the ground behind them begun to collapse in on itself. But the ship was also being pulled backwards, and the two pilots were struggling to keep the spacecraft out of the planet's grip.

Thor sat Rune down in a seat and rushed to where the others stood, staring out of the window. Stark looked over his shoulder at Thor, before turning back and crying, "Can't you use the Bifrost to get us out of here?!"

"No, Thor… don't." Rune spoke weakly, but no one heard him as Thor lifted his axe and dropped the end of the handle on the floor, making the ship shudder as different colours surrounded them.

But the colours soon grew dark and the ship shook even more violently than before, making Thor shake his head and whisper, "Something's wrong."

He turned around to face Rune but before anything could be said, the ship gave a giant lurch and threw them all into the air, hitting the ceiling and the floor repeatedly before everything suddenly grew dark and none of them knew anything more.


	8. Chapter 7: Damn

**I am SO SORRY for the _really long_ wait. I wanted to add more to this chapter, but couldn't seem to get round to it. Going to try and do better with the next chapter. Again, so sorry. Hope you all enjoy this, and I would love to hear your thoughts. :)**

 **P.S. I have seen Endgame, but that isn't going to affect my story. I both love and hate that movie.**

Thor gave a soft groan, moving his hands to his eyes, before taking a sharp breath and looking up at his surroundings. He saw that he was no longer in the cockpit of the ship, but in a completely different place. One that he had never seen or been in before… yet it had an air of familiarity to him.

He stared around the small room, calling out for the others as he made his way down a small tunnel, "Loki! Banner! Rogers! Stark!"

The big man entered a large room, his footsteps echoing loudly behind him as he stepped over to the hole in the wall. His eyes widened as he saw an orange and red stained sky, stretching across huge buildings. He slowly shook his head, backing away from the wall as he stared at the twisted, ruined buildings.

"Thor." He turned around to face Rogers and Stark who were walking into the room, their own eyes widening as they also stared out at the city. Stark frowned, exchanging glances with Rogers before speaking in a quiet voice, "I'd think we were in New York, but…"

Shaking his head slowly, he trailed off while Thor gave a nod of understanding, replying, "I thought the same. But then it looked like Asgard, and Sakaar…"

He shrugged his shoulders, looking out at the city in confusion. He turned back to his companions, their faces written with the same confusion that lay in his chest. But their attention was soon directed to Banner and Romanoff that entered the room, both panting and looking over their shoulders fearfully.

"Natasha." Rogers called, making Romanoff turn around to look at him, her chest heaving as she took deep breaths. She looked over her shoulder once more before pointing in the direction behind her and saying, "Hey guys, we… uh, we just ran into a few old friends."

The three men frowned at them, waiting for an explanation that Banner offered in small tone, "Chitauri. Just like the ones from New York."

He frowned and stepped closer to the wall that viewed the city while Romanoff followed him, adding, "Speaking of which… what's going on with that?"

Stark and Rogers shook their heads slowly, shrugging their shoulders while Thor frowned and looked around the room, asking quietly, "Where's Loki?"

They all looked around, their brows creasing. Thor took a deep breath and looked down at his hand, seeing that his axe was still there. He lifted it up and told his teammates, "We need to find him. Now."

He didn't wait until they gave nods of agreement, but stepped past them and began his search through the numerous tunnels that branched away from the large room. 

* * *

A great weight was pressed against his chest, making it hard for him to breath as he gave raspy coughs, clouds of dust floating into the air above him. His left hand tingling with pain that had grown numb over time, but he could still feel a cool liquid running down his fingers as he struggled to free his arms and legs.

It was dark, there was no light and he couldn't see what was on top of him, nor where he lay. For a few moments, he wondered whether his eyes were closed and opened them to their full extent, but nothing came before him. His throat tightened as he wondered whether he had become blind.

He then tried to remember what had happened, and found that nothing came to him, not even his name. Now his throat was clogged with fear and making it even harder for him to draw breath as he moved his head around in the small space, his mouth opening in silent calls of distress.

After many moments, he finally forced himself to close his eyes and take as many deep breaths as he could, calming his nerves slightly. He then opened his eyes and moved his head around more calmly, noticing that his forehead was layered with what felt like dry blood and dirt, letting him know that he must have injured himself. His heart jumped up into his throat as he suddenly remembered a soft voice speaking to him, the image of a woman standing in a kitchen while passing him a bowl of warm soup telling him, "You should be more careful, Rune."

Rune. Yes, that was his name. And the woman was his wife, Sonja. He gave a quiet sigh of relief, glad to have remembered something. But then he frowned as more came to him. His name was Rune… yet it wasn't. He was called something else. Loki. That was his true name and Thor was his brother. He gave a small sigh, and shook his head slightly while thinking about what had happened in the ship after he had destroyed the Infinity Stones. That's why his left hand now hurts.

It was then that he wondered where his brother and the other Avengers were, making him look around him once more, straining his eyes for some source of light. He felt his breath catch in his lungs as he spotted the tiniest dot of light that he had ever seen in his life, making his chest swell with hope.

Not taking his eyes off of the light, he gave a quiet groan as he pulled his right arm free of the imprisonment that it had been in. Shaking it loose of the remaining numbness, he stretched his hand towards the light, feeling cool metal at the tips of his fingers as he tried his best to grip onto the small edge that surrounded the dot of light. Getting a hold of it, he gritted his teeth in concentration as he focused all of his strength into moving the metal aside, widening the hole and allowing more light to flow into the cramped hole that he was in.

Along with the light came new sounds, albeit muffled ones. He strained his ears, trying to listen for anything that sounded like voices and felt his eyes widen as he caught hold of a sentence spoken not too far from where he lay, "It's like a junkyard here. Someone needs to call the maid and get her to clean this place up."

"Help!" He called as loud as he could, hissing slightly as the weight on his chest grew heavier. He listened intently as the light scuffle of footsteps ceased and the same voices spoke again, "Did you hear that? Where's it coming from?"

The footsteps sounded again and came closer, making Loki inhale unevenly before calling again, "Help! I'm down here!"

Loud foot falls sounded above him, dust falling onto him from the ceiling while a soft scrapping came to his ears. Loud groans of effort echoed into the small space as the large stone above Loki was lifted, showering light into the hole and making him raise his hand to bloke out the bright light that shone down on him.

"Loki! I am so glad we found you, brother!" Thor jumped down into the hole and made to lift the other stone off of Loki's chest while the others watched him from above. Loki took a quick, sharp breath as Thor lifted the rest of the debris off of his brother's chest, legs and arms, making it easier for Loki to breath.

A quiet chuckle of relief escaped Loki's lungs while allowing Thor to help him to his feet, supporting most of his weight. Loki gave groans of pain as his brother lifted him out of the hole, the others grabbing their hands, helping to pull them out. After a few minutes, Loki found himself lying against a wall with his eyes closed while panting heavily, again soft chuckles coming from his lungs as Thor seated himself beside him.

The group remained in silence for a few moments until Loki opened his eyes and looked down at his injured hand, spotting the golden wedding ring that was covered with dried blood. He wrapped his fingers around the band and gave quiet hisses of pain as he pulled it off, the others watching with looks of shock and disgust on their faces until the ring finally lay in the palm of his right hand.

Giving a sigh of relief, Loki leaned his head back again and muttered to the others, "I never thought that I'd hear myself say this, but I'm glad to see you."

He waited as Thor gave a tired chuckle while Stark nodded and replied, "Trust me, all of us are very pleased that we won't need to tell your wife of your death… Rune."

Loki sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a few seconds, shaking his head slowly while muttering, "We all know that my brother would be the only one to tell her, Stark. You wouldn't have the guts."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Stark yelled, his eyes wide with rage which quickly turned to confusion as he frowned thoughtfully before muttering, "Wait… did you call Thor 'brother'… and me by my last name?"

They all watched him in silence, each of them with raised eyebrows as they waited. Loki inhaled sharply, bowing his head for a second before looking up at them all from under his eyelashes and muttering quietly, "Sorry… slip of the tongue."

He watched as Thor stared around at the others with a look of shock, and was unable to stop the smile that stretched across his face as his brother turned back to face him, saying in a hopeful voice, "Loki… everything back to… normal?"

Loki frowned at him and raised his hands at him questioningly, glancing around at the others before turning back to Thor and asking him in feigned bewilderment, "'Normal'? What's that, Thor? Name one day that you consider 'normal'."

"The day you set an alien army on New York." Stark answered without hesitation, making everyone turn to him. Loki raised his eyebrows at him and muttered quietly, "Wow, Stark. Well then, I think it's safe to say that not everything is back to normal. Except maybe my desire to kill you."

He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, gripping his left wrist while his brow wrinkled with pain. Thor looked around at his companions, before turning back to his brother and asking him, "Are you okay, brother?"

It was a few minutes before he answered. Loki opened his eyes and rolled his head to look over at Thor, telling him while flexing his left hand, "The pain's growing worse. But I'll be fine. Anyway, where are we?"

Loki frowned as he looked around at his surroundings, only just taking in the large pieces of rubble. Thor gave a small shrug and also looked around, telling his brother, "We don't know. We were kind of hoping that you would know… brother."

Thor spoke the last word quietly, as if he was still trying to understand that he had his brother back. Loki sighed and shook his head slowly, replying, "Unfortunately, I don't. I hope you know the way out of here, at least. Somewhere to clean up."

He raised an eyebrow at the others and waited as they all exchanged glances, before all turning back to him and murmuring words of agreement, pointing to a tunnel that they had entered the room from. Loki gave a quiet groan and got to his feet, allowing Thor to take hold of his arm and guide him, his hands ready to catch Loki should he stumble.

Some minutes later, they entered a new room where they agreed to clean up and parted to seperate corners.

"I'm glad that your memory has returned, brother." Thor spoke softly, making Loki turn around to face him before giving a short nod and a small grin, which Thor greeted with a wider smile. Loki gave a quiet sigh and turned his back on Thor again, looking down at his tattered clothes. The two Asgardians were silent for a few moments, Loki moving to pull his shirt off while Thor made to walk away, before stopping and turning back to his brother, saying, "I'll see if I can find some water so you can wash off that blood."

Loki looked over his shoulder and gave a wider grin than before, nodding slowly and replying, "That would be helpful… thank you, brother."

The two exchanged smiles again and Loki waited as Thor turned his back and began walking away. Shaking his head slowly, Loki smiled to himself and pulled off his shirt, the thought of running water coming into his mind. A sharp pain exploded in his left hand, making Loki shout in surprise and pain, dropping his shirt and gripping his left wrist again.

It was then that a great wave of water dropped down onto his head and ran down his body, washing dirt and blood away while he gave cries of shock, calling the others.

"Loki! What is it?! Are you alright?!" Thor cried, running back to where his brother stood, the others following him closely. They all stopped and stared at the waterfall that was cascading down on Loki, who fought his way out of the current and stood to the side, shaking his head, making droplets of water fly from his hair while he continued to splutter.

Stark's jaw dropped as he stepped over to the waterfall and placed his hand under it, clear water running through his fingers and down his arm. They all turned to Loki who wiped his face free of water before exclaiming to them in a choked voice, "I have no idea what just happened. One moment I was standing there, next my hand hurt and then that…"

He gestured to the waterfall, but everyone suddenly frowned at him worryingly, Thor glancing around at his companions before looking at his brother and asking, "Wait, your hand hurt? Why?"

Loki shrugged helplessly, but couldn't reply as Rogers raised the attention of the others by saying, "What's going on with your hand?"

They all stared down at Loki's left hand, which seemed to have healed itself but was now glowing with different colours under his fair skin. Everyone looked at one another, while Loki slowly shook his head and muttered under his breath, "Oh… shit."

"You don't think…" Thor trailed off, waving his hand toward his brother while Stark and Banner bit their lips and stared down at the ground. Rogers and Romanoff frowned at them, before asking in unison, "What?"

Stark closed his eyes and rubbed his face while Banner gave a quiet groan and opened his mouth to answer, but Loki spoke first, "They believe that the Stones weren't correctly destroyed and that their power has been transferred into me."

He gritted his teeth in annoyance, while the others' eyes widened and they all hissed quietly, "Oh, shit."

Loki nodded shortly and muttered, "My sentiments exactly."


	9. Chapter 8: The Hall of Doors

**Sorry for the wait. Just so you all know, I am doing time-travel in this. I know, it sucks. But I thought I ought to warn you since it does get a little confusing, so there is past-Loki (who is in the past) and Loki (who is the present). I don't know how good this chapter is, but I hope you like it.**

"Does anyone actually know where we're going?" Stark called out to the silent group as they travelled. After the shocking discovery they had made, the group had quickly agreed that they needed to find a way back home. None of them dared to speak, all glancing nervously at Loki, who decided to stay well behind the others.

Rogers, as expected, was the one to lead the small group through the wreckage with Banner and Romanoff following closely. Stark gave a loud huff of annoyance as no one answered his question, complete silence falling on the group once more. Loki knew what they were thinking. It was the same thing that was running through his own mind. It was the reason why he stared down at his boots and refused to meet anyone's gaze. He knew that they were all worried that he would turn against them and use the stones. Even Thor was avoiding him.

One thing that shouldn't be misunderstood is that the Avengers had every reason to be suspicious. It wasn't as if the thought hadn't crossed Loki's mind. In fact, it was almost impossible to resist the urge. He had the most powerful weapon in the entire universe on his fist and all he needed to do was think of what he wanted. He could do anything he wanted, make the universe however he wanted. It was a strong temptation and there had been so many times when he nearly found himself using the stones. But every time, Loki would be reminded of his wife and Thor. Every time he would wonder what Sonja would think and he would imagine the disappointment on his brother's face. Not that he was particularly bothered by the thought of betraying Thor… again.

And yet, it stopped him from doing so. He was unsure why and it made him feel uneasy. But one thing was for certain. In the past year, he had changed. Whether it was for better, or worse, was still to be decided. There was also something else that bothered him. Though he had gained the memories of his life and family, he found that there were some things that he struggled to remember. It was mostly small details, nothing too big. Yet it still troubled him. Doing his best to shove these thoughts to the side, Loki glanced up from his boots and turned his gaze to the others in front of him. He saw that they had entered a new room, nearly as large as the throne room in Asgard. The group of six slowed and stopped in their tracks, each of their eyes wide as they stared around at the walls that surrounded them. The walls were lined with hundreds, if not thousands, of doors which continued high above them. It went so far above them that none of them could see the ceiling.

"Okay. That's a lot of doors." Banner stated slowly, to which everyone gave small nods of agreement. Loki felt his brows furrow questioningly as he noticed that there seemed to be no exit to the large room. He stepped past the others and ignored their quiet calls as he ran to the end of the long hallway. He didn't need to turn around to see Thor chasing him while calling loudly, "Loki! Where are you going, brother?"

Loki ignored the calls of the others as they followed, slowing his pace as he came to the end of the hall and found more doors. He shook his head and turned to Avengers and told them, "It's a dead end. We should turn back and try to-"

The rest of sentence suddenly disappeared. The others frowned at him in concern, exchanging glances before asking the Asgardian, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Unable to answer, Loki could only raise his arm and point behind them. They turned around and felt their jaws drop in shock as they stared at the place they had come from. Instead of finding the entrance that they had stepped through, they found more walls and doors. Thor shook his head in bewilderment, hissing, "What kind of dark magic is being used to trap us here?"

"Oh, please! We're hardly trapped." Stark gestured his hand at the hundreds of doors around them. They all waited as he stepped over to one of the doors and pulled on the handle. It all happened suddenly and none of them were quite aware of their actions. All that Loki remembered was hearing cries of shock, the feeling of a dagger in his hand, burying his weapon into the intruder's chest and forcing the door to a close. It wasn't until he turned back to the others that he realised what happened. At each of their feet lay a Dark Elf, a pool of dark blood spreading across the tiled floor.

"What just happened?" Roger and Banner cried in unison, staring down at the dead man with pale faces. Loki shook his head and glanced at the other doors while saying, "The doors must be portals to other places… other times."

He waited as they all looked around, Romanoff giving a disbelieving gasp while asking, "Which one do we choose? There's hundreds of them."

Slowly, they each separated and stepped over to different doors, studying them and trying to decide which one was their best chance. Loki recognised quite a few of the doors, some were from Earth, others Asgard and even a few from Sakaar. But even though he knew where some of them came from, none of them had any idea as to what time they might step into. Loki breathed a deep sigh and glanced over at the rest, calling to them, "In case we end up choosing a door that will lead us to our past, I feel that I should mention that it might be best to avoid making contact with our past selfs."

"What'd happen if we do?" Romanoff asked, to which Loki could only shrug his shoulders while answering, "I don't know, but I just feel that it would be unwise."

He waited as Stark and Banner nodded agreement and began to discuss the subject of time travel, to which everyone gave loud groans and quickly backed away from the two. Even though the subject fascinated him, Loki didn't feel like participating in their discussion. Instead, he stepped over to his brother and spoke to him quietly, "We need to talk, brother."

Thor frowned at him in concern, glancing over his shoulder at the others before asking, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, but…" Loki breathed a deep sigh, " I have an issue trying to remember everything. It's not important, but I felt that you should know."

He watched as relief spread across Thor's face. The large man placed a heavy hand on Loki shoulder with a warm smile and told him, "Thank you for telling me, brother. I'm glad to know that you are alright."

Loki returned the smile, the two brother's separated to check the many doors. Loki was just about to open a door, when he heard Thor call over the others. He turned in his brother's direction and saw him place his hand on the knob. Loki could feel his eyes widen and tried to give a shout of warning while running towards his brother. But it was too late as Thor flung the door open and allowed dozens of Chitauri to enter. There were shouts of panic, sounds of battle and confusion and Loki defended himself against the horrid creatures that scratched at his clothes and skin. All of a sudden, he felt a hand grip his arm and pull him away from the aliens and push him through a door.

There was blinding light and a deafening noise, before both he and Thor were throw into new surroundings and forced to try and find their footing. Loki gave shouts of pain as he fell and rolled on a downhill slope before having his back slam against a hard surface. His eyes barely had time to adjust to the new light before he had to defend him from an attacking Chitauri. He kicked out at the creature and threw a dagger at it's heart, a loud shrill sounding that he had found his mark. Loki took deep breaths and forced himself to his feet while turning to face Thor.

"Are you okay, brother?" Thor called, pulling his axe out of one the aliens chest. Loki shrugged, opening his mouth to answer. But before he had the chance, he suddenly found himself being pressed against the wall with a tight hand wrapped around his throat. He gasped for air and clawed at his foe's arm while staring into the pale face that reflected his own. He watched as his past self frowned and hissed, "What trick is this?!"

"It's… not a trick." Loki choked while trying to loosen the grip around his neck. He watched as the past-Loki frowned questioningly before being knocked aside, allowing Loki to breathe freely. Raspy coughs forced their way out of his throat as he collapsed to his knees and turned to look over at his brother who had past-Loki pinned to the ground. There was a faint click that made Loki freeze, not daring to face the man who pointed the gun at his head while speaking in a deep voice, "Don't… move."

He did as he was told, only moving to gesture towards Thor who had to tackle the armed man aside. Loki had recognised the voice, though he hadn't heard it for six years. The gun remained firmly pressed against his head while Fury used his radio to call the Avengers of that time. Loki looked over at his brother and winced as Thor placed his large axe on top of past-Loki's chest. His attention was quickly drawn away from the two as the Avengers entered the room. Loki suddenly found himself, once again, being lifted into the air with a large hand around his neck. He gripped at the hand and stared down into the younger face of his brother.

Loki couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes and groaning loudly, "Why must everyone grab my neck?! It is growing very tiresome."

"I completely agree." He heard his own voice respond, making him look over at his younger-self, who was trying to lift the axe away from his chest. This also made past-Thor look over, his grip realising on Loki's neck slightly. The two Thors stared at each for a few moments, before Thor reached towards his axe. Loki's felt his eyes widen, making him raise his hand towards his brother and call to him, "Don't!"

Thor glanced at him uncertainly. He hesitated, his brows furrowing while calling back questioningly, "Loki…?"

"Trust me." Loki replied, nodding towards him slightly. Thor looked as if he were about to argue, but pursed his lips and gave a gentle nod in return. Silence followed these subtle actions, everyone staring at this strange scene with wide eyes. Loki suddenly felt the grip on his neck tighten, making him give a suppressed shout while past-Thor hissed at him, "Enough with your tricks, brother! You won't escape."

Loki struggled to take a deep breath, kicking out at past-Thor to try and make him loosen his grip. There was a deafening cry and Loki found himself fall to the floor with a heavy thud, raspy coughs breaking out of his throat. He looked upwards and saw the two Thors unlocked in a battle, flashes of lightening coming from the short-haired one. He quickly glanced over at his past-self, and breathed a gentle sigh as he saw that the axe remained on his chest. Giving another raspy cough, he climbed to his feet and staggered over to the two Thors.

Doing his best to avoid getting punched, he pulled his brother away from the fight and pushed the other away. Thor breathed heavily, his chest heaving while Loki gripped at his arm and hissed, "Calm yourself, brother. It won't do us any good if kill ourselves… past or present."

He waited as Thor glanced and took a deep breath to calm himself. Satisfied that he understood his meaning, Loki released his brother's arm and raised a hand to his slightly bruised neck. He turned his gaze to the Avengers as Fury called loudly, "Would someone mind telling me what the hell is going on?"

"Or why there's two dead alien things in here?" Stark added, poking at one of the Chitauri with his foot. They all turned to the Asgardians. Loki exchanged glances with Thor, before turning back to the Avengers and telling them, "You may find this hard to believe… but Thor and I are from the future."

Calls of disbelief followed his words. Thor shook his head and stepped back over to past-Loki, while Loki crossed his arms and watched the Avengers. After a few moments, Stark and Banner frowned at one another thoughtfully. They both shook their heads and dismissed the idea. Banner then frowned and said to his companion, "It can't be possible… can it?"

"Well, you wouldn't think that gammer radiation could turn you into a raging green monster, but here we are." Stark replied with a shrug. Loki felt his throat tighten, only then remembering that Banner could turn into the Hulk at any moment, and there was no controlling him. Thor obviously had the same thought, for both he and Loki slowly backed away until they were standing beside past-Loki. Thor leaned towards his brother and whispered, "You remember what's going to happen, right?"

Loki gave a soft nod, his mind on the infiltration that had allowed his escape from the Helicarrier. He glanced down at his past-self and whispered back, "We should get the mind stone and look for the Tesseract while we're here."

"What is it with you and the Tesseract?" Thor groaned quietly while shaking his head. Loki frowned at him questioningly and asked, "What's that suppose too mean?"

Thor raised his eyebrows and scoffed quietly, "In case you forgot, brother… you had to take it before destroying Asgard and give it to Thanos. You're the whole reason why this all happened. If you had just left it alone…"

"And in case _you_ forgot, Thor… I only gave Thanos the Tesseract to save your life." Loki spoke in a hiss. Thor gave a bark of disbelieving laughter and widened his eyes. The Avengers grew silent and turned to the Asgardians as Thor told his brother, "While I'm grateful for your 'sacrifice'… I think we both know that you always had the intention of running away. The only thing you hadn't planned was losing your mind and getting yourself married."

Rage filled Loki's veins. He wasn't entirely sure why he became so angry, only that he curled his hands into balls of fist. Thor seemed to have realised that he had gone a step too far and opened his mouth to apologise. But Loki's focus was no longer on the conversation, his eyes flicking over to the watching crowd. They were each reaching towards their weapons and he was suddenly overcome with a single thought. They needed to get out of there. A plan had begun to form in his mind and he decided to go through with it.

Without hesitating, he raised his fist and buried it in Thor's cheek. The large man staggered back and raised a hand to his face, turning back to his brother in shock. Loki gathered as much rage as he could and walked towards his brother while shouting, "How dare you insult me? Oh, you think you're _so_ much better! And yet, if I remember correctly, you're the one who got _dumped_ by a Midgardian!"

He knew that he had struck a cord as soon as the words left his mouth. Sparks of lightening flashed in his eyes as he swung his arm towards Loki's head. Dodging the attack, Loki wrapped his arm around Thor's neck and quickly hissed in his ear, "We need to get out of here and I have a plan."

"What?" Thor hissed back. Loki pushed him out of the head-lock, knowing that the watching crowd had all drawn their weapons and were aiming at the fighting brothers. Loki raised his fists again and swung out at Thor, who ducked and grabbed his brother's arm. This gave Loki a chance to explain further, "Just follow my lead and get your axe."

Though he was bewildered, Thor gave a quick nod and allowed Loki to break out of his hold. The two battled each other for a while longer, each getting their fair share of punches. At last, Loki revealed a long dagger and shouted, "We shall see who is better now!"

He waited until Thor summoned his axe before running forward, raising his blade above his head. He had no intention of attacking, but made an illusion so that it appeared that way to the watching crowd. But their sights were soon blocked by a heavy green mist that filled the room. Everyone gave loud coughs and tried to wave it away, but it was soon gone. And with it, the two Asgardians.


	10. Chapter 9: Hulk on the Helicarrier

**We're back! Yay! I am so sorry for the REALLY long wait. Can't believe I haven't been back to this since July last year. I really hope you all enjoy this.**

The two brothers ran as far away as they could, pausing only when they were at a safe distance. Loki pulled his brother into an empty room where they would be hidden from sight. There, the two panted heavily and rubbed at their bruises from their fight.

"Did you have to punch so hard?" Loki groaned while nursing his bruised ribs. Thor gave a scoff and adjusted his jaw while muttering back, "You did hit me first. That was a good punch, by the way."

Loki allowed a gentle chuckle. But his back soon grew stiff as a thunder of footfalls passed by their hiding place. Gingerly, the two brothers poked their heads around the doorway and watched as a group of black-cladded guards disappeared around a corner. Each expressing a sigh of relief, the two sat down with their backs pressed against the wall. Thor looked over at his brother and asked him, "What do we do now?"

It was a few moments before Loki answered. He drew in a sharp breath and whispered, "I still think we need to get the Tesseract and mind stone."

"Why do we need them, brother?" Thor spoke with a restrained moan. He then gestured at Loki's hand and told him, "We already have all the stones. Why can't we just return to our time and bring everyone back?"

Giving a frustrated groan, Loki shook his head and explained to his brother, "We can't do that. We have no idea if the stones will work that way. Not to mention how I might be affected from using them. We can't even be certain that they'll work after my attempt at destroying them. I think we should collect all of the stones again… just in case."

Not sure why he was holding he was breath, Loki waited for his brother's reaction. Thor thought over it for a short while before giving a slow nod of understanding. Relieved, Loki inhaled deeply and winced at the slight pain in his ribs. Nursing them once again, he bowed his head and thought over the plan that was slowly forming in his mind. But his thoughts were tinged with his own personal reasons for going after the stones.

He thought about the life that he had built for himself over the past year. About Sonja and the life that was growing inside of her. It was then that Loki realised how much he wanted to be there for his unborn child. How much he didn't want to risk losing his life by trying to bring back those who vanished in the snap. His thoughts were soon interrupted as Thor enquired, "What's your plan, brother? How do we collect all of the stones?"

"While we're in this time, we should try getting as many of the stones as we can. That means at least the mind and space stones." Loki murmured while scratching at his chin thoughtfully. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Thor nodding his agreement. Loki then continued with his plan, "But first we need disguises. Something that'll let us blend in and travel among them."

"As long as you get rid of that beard," Thor spoke while pointing at the black bristles that grew along Loki's chin. Staring at his brother questioningly, he rose a hand to his face while replying, "What's wrong with it?"

Thor raised his eyebrows at his little brother and told him with a simple tone, "It just doesn't look natural on you, brother."

Giving a reluctant nod of agreement, Loki retrieved a dagger from his sleeve while saying, "To be honest… I only grew it because we ran out of shaving cream. And it took me five months to grow it."

The two brothers exchanged quiet laughs and Loki raised the blade to his cheek. But his actions were paused as another set of thundering footsteps travelled past them. Again, they poked their heads out of their hiding place and watched the black-armoured men run past.

"I do believe we've found our disguises," Thor muttered softly while exchanging glances with his brother.

It didn't take long, nor much effort for the two brothers to collect the black armour of the soldiers. The biggest issue was making it fit. After knocking out the biggest pair of soldiers they could find, they stripped the men of their clothes and began to wriggle into them. Plenty of curses sounded from Thor as he struggled to pull on the shirt over his head, accidentally ripping one of the sleeves in the process. Loki had less trouble than his brother, but he couldn't stop himself from complaining that his clothes were too short and that the boots were a bit tight.

Once fully dressed, Loki cast an illusion over his and Thor's face so that they wouldn't be recognised. He also disguised Thor's axe as a large gun. They then pushed aside their complaints and exited the room that they were hiding in. After making sure that the unconscious men were well tied up and gagged, the brothers closed the door to the room and travelled down the hall. Loki fiddled with the large gun that was in his arms while thinking about how primitive the weapon was. Pushing these thoughts aside, he and Thor nodded to the men that passed them by, not stopping to talk as they made their way to the lab where the sceptre was held.

"Why are these pants so tight?!" Thor groaned while pulling at his pants. Stifling a scoff of disgust, Loki rolled his eyes and muttered out of the side of his mouth, "At least your pants stay on. Mine keep slipping down."

As he spoke, he could feel them falling once again and pulled at the belt around his waist. He still struggled to believe that the belt was on the tightest hole possible. They were so loose, even though he was wearing his other pair of pants underneath. Forcing this out of his mind, he and Thor paused at the end of the corridor and glanced at the halls that led down to the right and left.

Taking a deep breath, Loki turned to his brother and asked him, "Which way do we go?"

Thor didn't answer immediately. Underneath his helmet, Loki could see that his brother was uncertainly chewing at his lip. Frowning at him questioningly, Loki hissed to him, "You do know which way to go, right?"

"Give me a break, Loki! It's been six years since I was last here and it was only for a couple of days." Thor hissed back. He thought about it for a moment longer before pointing at the hall to their left and saying, "I think it's this way."

Not arguing with his choice, Loki followed his brother. He had to admit, he couldn't remember much of his time on the helicarrier. But he knew that they needed to hurry. It surely wouldn't be long before his plan of this time began to take place. That is… if their arrival hadn't already interrupted it.

It was soon clear that Thor had chosen the right path as they arrived outside of the glass lab. Loki's heart jumped up into his throat as he saw that a couple of the Avengers were in the room with Fury. Doing a hurried headcount, he saw that past-Thor, Rogers and Romanoff were missing from the group. Exchanging glances with Thor, the two brothers pulled open the lab door and stepped inside.

Loki breathed a sigh of relief as the three men ignored their entrance. Moving off to the side, the two brothers remained silent as Fury continued talking to Banner and Stark, "…do not let that sceptre leave your sight. We can't let it get back into Loki's hands."

"Don't worry, Nick. We won't let ol' rock of ages get it. Will we, Bruce?" Stark clapped Banner on the shoulder. Looking highly uncomfortable, Banner cleared his throat and gave a short nod. Loki felt his throat tighten as the three men turned to him and Thor. He could feel a string of sweat bead his forehead as Fury frowned at them and asked, "What are you two doing here?"

Answering quickly, Loki disguised his voice and responded with, "We've come to offer extra protection for the sceptre, sir. You can never be too safe."

Fury continued to stare at them with that burning, one-eyed gaze. He slowly stepped over to them and asked, "What are your names, soldiers?"

Having not counted on this question, Loki expressed a choked sound while Thor stuttered, "Uh, Hiddlesworth… sir. I'm… Chris… and this is my brother…"

Thor flattered while holding out his hand towards Loki. It was clear that he was struggling to find another name that would not give them away. Recognising his struggle, Loki cleared his throat and added, "Tom."

Hoping it was enough to fool them, Loki held his breath and waited as Fury continued to stare at them. After a few moments, he gave a nod and seemed to accept their story. Both brothers breathed silent sighs of relief and waited as the lab door opened. Past-Thor, Rogers and Romanoff all stepped into the room. Rogers shook his head at Fury and told him, "There's no sign of them."

"We'll find them. They can't have gone far." Romanoff told her boss as she moved to stand beside him. Fury didn't respond as he continued to eye the two brothers. Worried that he wasn't so believing of their story, Loki waited as Rogers and past-Thor passed by them. All attention was soon drawn to Stark as he took a breath and said to past-Thor, "Say, he's your brother, right? You know him better than anyone. Shouldn't you have expected something like this?"

Everyone turned to past-Thor, who shifted uncomfortably and thoughtfully raised a hand to his chin. It was a moment before he replied with, "Loki has always been… crafty. I knew that he would have some kind of plan. I just didn't think he was capable of such illusions."

His voice trailed into nothing as he turned his back to the group and stared down at the metal floor. Loki exchanged glances with his brother, neither one daring to move as they continued to observe the Avengers. Banner gave a quiet cough before posing his questions, "How did he get out of that room? And why didn't he just leave? Why create such a… dramatic scene?"

Loki felt his brows jump into his hair, surprised that any of them had thought to ask such questions. His brows soon furrowed themselves again as Stark made a spluttering scoff and said, " _Clearly_ , he's lost his mind."

"I don't disagree that my brother's mind is warped… but he's not crazy." Past-Thor spoke as he turned back to the group. His face remained thoughtful as he muttered, "But I must admit that I am unable to decipher what his plan is. And I've never seen him create such an illusion of himself."

He rubbed at the beard on his chin and it was clear that he was thinking of the facial hair that Loki had. Resisting the urge to scratch at his now clean-shaven face, Loki waited as Rogers said to the group, "It doesn't matter how he did it. It's clear that he's released a threat onto the ship and that they need to be found. Have you found the Tesseract yet with that thing?"

Gesturing his head towards Stark, they all turned their gaze to the sceptre. Stark inhaled deeply and rubbed the back of his neck while replying, "Well… we might have found something of its location if we weren't so rudely interrupted."

"You shouldn't make up excuses for your failures," Rogers responded with a snappy tone. Loki felt his throat tighten, his eyes flicking over to the sceptre as it gave a gentle flash. His plan was beginning to take shape. Glancing over at his brother, he saw that Thor also recognised what was happening. Slowly, they edged around the room and avoided the others' gazes as they made their way towards the sceptre. Loki knew that they needed to get it before Barton arrived and started with his invasion.

No longer paying attention to the bickering that was growing worse, Loki focused his mind on reaching the sceptre. It was then that he saw that Banner was also edging towards it. He felt a stab of worry, for he was well aware that the Hulk would soon reveal itself. His attention was soon drawn back to the argument as Fury instructed of his agent, "Agent Romanoff, please escort Dr Banner-"

"Where? You rented out my room." Banner interrupted. He was stepping closer and closer to the sceptre. Loki began to move a little faster while Fury tried to pose an excuse for the cell that was his prison. It was clear that Banner was growing more agitated, his hand reaching out for the golden sceptre as he said to Romanoff, "You want to know my secret? How I manage to stay so calm?"

Just as Banner made to pick up the weapon, Loki stepped in front of him. The doctor jumped as his hand bumped into Loki's chest, who murmured to him, "You may want to back away… Dr Banner."

Doing as he was told, Banner stepped back and Loki breathed a sigh of relief. But his relief was short-lived as an explosion sounded and they were all thrown to the floor. Both his and Thor's helmets fell off in the fall and his illusions broke in the process. This meant that all of the Avengers could see their true faces. Without hesitation, Loki jumped to his feet and grabbed the sceptre. He then dragged his brother out of the room with him, seeing in the process that Banner and Romanoff had fallen through the window while the others slowly got to their feet and gave chase.

Running as fast as they could, they didn't dare look back until they had turned a dozen corners. And they didn't stop until they were sure that they had lost the Avengers. The two brothers stopped and doubled over, trying to catch their breath. Thor reached over and patted Loki's shoulder while telling him, "That was quick thinking. Well done, brother."

"We're not out of this yet." Loki murmured back, his spine stiffening as he listened to the echoing roar that sounded through the airship. Thor also glanced around nervously, tightening his grip on his axe, which was no longer disguised. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Loki suggested to his brother, "We should keep moving."

Thor murmured agreement. Slowly, they travelled down the many corridors and checked around the corners. Somehow, they were lucky not to have been spotted by the numerous soldiers that were running around. Most likely because they hide from sight whenever they saw someone. But they were not unaware of the sounds of battle that seemed to grow closer with each step they took. While they tried their best to avoid going in the direction of the fight, it was not always by their choice.

So it was that they find themselves entering the flight hold in the exact second that past-Thor his hammer at the Hulk, who tried to catch it and went flying through the air. Loki glanced down at the sceptre in his hand and in a split second knew that he had to find a way to calm the enraged beast. Tightening his grip on the long weapon, he ignored his brother's calls of protest as he ran towards the green monster.

The Hulk didn't see him coming, for he was too focused on trying to lift Mjolnir. Jumping off the wing of a plane, Loki fell towards the beast and wrapped his arms around his neck. Taken by surprise, the Hulk abandoned his struggle and began to try and force Loki off his back. Though he struggled to hold on, he pressed the sceptre against the monster's neck and hissed into his ear, "Calm yourself, Banner. Calm down."

But his attempts were not enough as a giant green hand grabbed him and threw him onto the floor. Winded, Loki felt the golden sceptre leave his grasp and heard it scrape against the floor. He was unable to chase after it as the Hulk raised his arms and made to smash down on him. Loki raised his hands in defence, casting a shield between him and the beast. He hadn't expected the shield to hold, yet it did and that is why he cried with disbelief. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the two Thors running towards them and watched as they both tackled the Hulk to the ground.

"Loki! The sceptre!" Thor shouted out to his brother as he struggled to hold down the beast's arms. Loki jumped to his feet and ran over to the weapon, grabbing hold of it and turning back to the scene. He watched as the Hulk tossed past-Thor into a pile of boxes and then pressed the other Thor into the ground. But before he had the chance to pound the large man, Loki ran over to them and pressed the sharp tip of the sceptre into the monster's green chest. Taken by surprise, the Hulk faltered. This was his mistake as Loki commanded him, "Sleep!"

As if taken by a spell, his eyes grew heavy and closed as he fell onto his back. Loki's legs quivered under his weight and he lay down beside his brother. He didn't take his eyes off the monster until he had shrunk back into Banner's body. Then he breathed a shaky breath of relief and allowed himself to collapse onto the floor.

Thor gave a thundering laugh and patted his brother. Their gaze was soon drawn to the pile of boxes as past-Thor clawed his way back into the open space. His blue eyes stared at Banner in confusion before turning to look at the two Asgardians. Loki and Thor jumped to their feet and slowly backed away. There was no reason for past-Thor to not attack them and let them go.

"We don't wish to fight," Thor called to his past-self while raising a protective arm in front of Loki. The younger Thor didn't attack, his face lined with confusion as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He opened his mouth to speak, but it was never heard by Loki as something tackled him to the ground. A shout of pain broke from his lungs as he was pressed to the ground. He then turned to look into his attacker's face and saw his own younger self.

The two fought over the sceptre, past-Loki trying to twist it out of his hands. Not willing to let it happen, Loki raised his elbow and allowed it to collide into his foe's face. This allowed him to crawl away and climb to his feet. He barely had enough time to prepare himself when he was attacked again. The two Loki's struggled against one another, both equal in their fighting capabilities and thus managing to get in a few punches. But neither one of them were strong enough to wrench the sceptre out of the other's hands.

So vicious was their battle that they caused the weapon to power up and release a force of energy to crash into the wall of the hull. Another set of blasts went off, causing the wall to open up into the sky. Past-Thor was sucked out of the room and only just managed to grab hold of a metal bar to stop himself from flying away. The sceptre flew from the two Lokis hands and landed on the floor. Past-Loki chased after it while Loki was split between the weapon and past-Thor.

Deciding on his choice, Loki raced over to the helpless Asgardian and caught his hand just in time while also holding onto a metal bar. He could feel his muscles stretch painfully as he struggled to stop past-Thor from flying away. Turning his gaze over to where the sceptre was, he saw his past-self locked in combat with his brother. Surprisingly, Thor lost the battle as past-Loki knocked him out with a blast of the sceptre.

Past-Loki then stepped over to the giant hole, a murderous glint in his eyes. Casting another shield between himself and the sharp point of the weapon, Loki watched as his past-self pressed the blade towards his heart. A smile began to stretch across the younger Loki's face as he hissed, "You can't hold out forever. Eventually, you're going to have to make a choice. And if you are who I think you are, you'll make the right choice and join me. We could rule this world."

However much he didn't want to admit, Loki knew that he was right. He could already feel himself tiring and knew that he would most likely not last longer than a minute before he passed out. Hundreds of thousands of thoughts flew through his mind as he tried to decide upon the best course of action. He soon came to his conclusion.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for what was to come. Everything seemed to travel in slow motion as he swung past-Thor back into the room and allowed his shield to fall. A blast of pain exploded in his chest as the sceptre pierced him. He felt the blade leave his chest as past-Thor crashed into past-Loki. Everything that followed was a blur. All he knew was the pain in his chest and the darkness that was slowly clouding over him. He could barely keep his eyes open, blood raising into his mouth as he struggled to breathe.

"Loki! Loki!" He could hear his brother's worried voice and saw the hazed outline of his face before everything went black.


End file.
